The Persistence of Memory
by KaLeRei
Summary: A few months after coming back from the future, an unfortunate accident causes Haru to lose her memories, and sends Hayato on a collision course with his past and the memories he's buried and tried -but failed- to forget. GokuHaru; 5986.
1. Overture

::Well, we've just started our Christmas vacation, and I've finally brought myself to write for KHR. This is inspired by our school's Dance Night… sort of.

::This is set AFTER the events of the future arc. Because we all know they're going to defeat Byakuran eventually.

::I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

* * *

"**.Overture."**

"Tch." Gokudera Hayato looked at his reflection in the mirror as he fixed his tie. _I don't even want to go to this stupid dance… but since Juudaime is coming, I have to be there, I am the boss's right hand man, after all. _Actually, he has never been to a school dance before, because he hasn't gone to school before he went to Japan. He was home-tutored. But the amount of TV shows and movies with school dances in them told him explicitly that there was no way in hell that he would enjoy this event. ..

Regardless, he made his way to Namimori Middle, for the Juudaime, of course. Everything is for the Vongola Decimo. Everything. He does owe his life to him, after all.

"Oi! Gokudera!" He didn't need to turn around to know whose voice that was. "Baseball-idiot." He said, it was his usual way of greeting. It was a slightly awkward walk to school, without either of them saying anything. Walking to school at night fiercely reminded them of the Ring Conflict with the Varia… it's been a pretty long time since then, they've been to the future and back… and they've come to realize just how much stronger the opponents after the Varia were.

Even Hayato had to admit, it was nice to be back… back to the days where they didn't have risk their lives fighting every day, where they didn't have to constantly train… back to being ordinary teenagers for a while. Because they all knew this wasn't going to be the end of the strife with the mafia, Tsuna hasn't even taken his position as the Vongola Decimo yet. But at least tonight… they had freedom, freedom and peace.

They finally made their way into Nami-Middle's gymnasium. Lights were flashing, decorations were hung, and you never would've thought that two illusionists have fought a furious battle here only a few months ago… that and that Ryohei broke an entire wall with just his fists. The festivities have yet to begin, and people were arriving steadily.

"Juudaime!" Gokudera called, running to his boss's side.

"Gokudera-kun! Yamamoto!" Tsuna greeted, but there was something strange about the expression on his face.

"Is anything wrong, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked. "Tell us, Juudaime." Hayato said, glaring daggers at anyone nearby, as if they were the cause of his boss's problem.

"A-ah… it's nothing. Don't worry." Tsuna said dismissively. "Really." But there was a certain awkwardness and worry on his face when he looked at the Sasagawa siblings, who have just arrived.

Hayato and Takeshi weren't stupid. They got the message loud and clear. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Tsuna. Trust your instincts." Yamamoto said, smiling.

_What instincts?! _Tsuna thought desperately.

"Shut up, baseball-idiot! Of course the Juudaime can handle it! This is nothing compared to everything we've gone through!" Gokudera remarked.

_I think I'd rather battle Xanxus again than go through this… maybe even Byakuran… no… maybe not him. _Tsuna thought, going over his plan in his head for the thousandth time today. _But, Gokudera-kun is right. I should be able to do this easily._

The music began to play. A fast and upbeat song, made for everyone to just go dance like crazy. But of course, you can never go crazy… not when the Discipline Committee is ready to 'bite-you-to-death' if you get too carried away, so, no mosh-pits… just random people getting on the dance floor and trying to enjoy themselves. Sasagawa Ryohei did things to the extreme, even dancing, but at least it looked like he was enjoying himself. EXTREMELY. Yamamoto was taken by a group of his admirers as soon as they set eyes on him, and he was too nice to refuse. Gokudera was being followed by his fans, but they gave up after losing him when he ran, and they couldn't find him… and Tsuna… well, he just sat down on one of the seats, trying to hide his nervousness and waiting… waiting for the music to slow down, waiting with mixed anxiety and excitement…

Gokudera stealthily made his way to the buffet table to get some food, careful not to catch the eye of any girls. The sigh of relief he was supposed to give when he got a plate safely got caught in his throat when he saw who were serving the food… _The stupid woman? And A-aniki?! What the heck are they doing here?! _Thankfully, she was facing the other way and he didn't see her face, but that hair color was unmistakable. He put back his plate, and looked for a place to hide. _On second thought, I don't think I'm that hungry. _

He nearly laughed when he saw how 'extreme' Ryohei was dancing… but he was more surprised when he saw who he was dancing with. _Kurokawa? Well, that's unexpected. _She looked like she didn't really know what she was doing, but she was enjoying herself nonetheless. And he couldn't help but smile when he saw his boss finally dancing with Sasagawa Kyoko. _Sasuga, Juudaime._

"It's Hayato-kun!" A girl squealed. "There he is!" and soon a mob of girls were on his tail again.

_Shit. _

Meanwhile, at the buffet table… Yamamoto was getting himself some food. It was tiring, having to change partners so quickly, but at least they were nice enough to let him go after dancing with them at least once. "Haru didn't know you were so popular, Yamamoto-san!"

"Haru?" he said, looking at the girl who put the sushi on his plate. "I didn't know you worked at a catering service."

"Hahi? I don't, actually. I just made these costumes so Bianchi-san and I could go here." She stated, taking off the apron and joining Yamamoto. "We don't have dances at my school."

"Oh yeah. Midori-Middle is an all girls school, right?" Yamamoto said as they sat down.

"Hai. Haru never thought it would look like so much fun." She said, taking a bite off some Unagi Sushi.

"Hehe." They soon finished eating, and Yamamoto offered Haru a dance, which she accepted. Of all the Vongola guardians, Yamamoto was the one that Haru actually got along with the most. Well, Yamamoto was the guardian almost everyone got along with the most anyway.

"I don't really know how to dance, though." Yamamoto said.

"No one really does." Haru replied. "See? Look… everyone's just… moving."

And they did too. Some of the girls wondered who Yamamoto was dancing with.

"Hey look, is that Tsuna?" Yamamoto said, looking at a couple nearby.

"Hahi?... it is…" Haru said, her smile faltering.

"Is anything wrong?" he asks.

"Nothing! Haru is fine!" she said, smiling again… but the look in her eyes said otherwise. "Thank you for the dance, Yamamoto-san." And she quickly made her way out of the gymnasium, almost bumping into other people in her haste. She wiped her eyes dry as soon as she was outside. Luckily there was no-one there to see her.

Behind the gymnasium, Gokudera Hayato was catching his breath. _Damn fangirls. When will they get that 'no' means 'no'?! _He unconsciously put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes. He took one between his lips and proceeded to light it… _It's been a long time since I last smoked… I didn't have any time, not in the future... _He clicked his lighter off and put it back in his pocket, he returned the cigarette in its box and also put that in his pocket. _I guess I don't have to anymore._

He heard the music playing inside… it was strangely familiar, and brought an ephemeral memory onto his mind. Soft hands over his, guiding him over ivory keys, the warmth in her touch, the silver of her hair that is so similar to his… that melody, the music that haunted him.

_Damn it._ No matter how many times he would try to remember her, he could never bring to mind her smile, the smile he always longed for, the smile that made him practice playing the piano every day, the smile that she gave him whenever he did well. This was that bittersweet memory that haunts him when he sleeps, or when he hears familiar notes. He sighs… some things are better left forgotten.

He saw something he didn't expect just when he had decided to get back inside. "Uri?!" The storm box-weapon glared at him and made its way on to his face, scratching furiously. "Stop it! Stop it you stupid cat!" He pulled the cat off his face and was seriously considering throwing it to the wall…

"You shouldn't do that to animals Gokudera-san!" Haru said, taking Uri from his hands, who then proceeded to purr with delight as she stroked his fur.

_Traitorous bastard. _"What the hell are you doing here anyway, stupid-woman?" he asked.

"H-haru just wanted to see what school dances are like in Nami-Middle." She answered, but Gokudera thought that the reason was something more than just that. "That's not it…"

"Hahi?!" _But you're right. _"Of course it is! Why would Haru lie?"

"You came here because of Juudaime." _I can't exactly blame you… because I did too, for a different reason. _"Can't you see that you're just making things harder for him? He likes Sasagawa."

"Haru isn't stupid! Of course I know that! I-I always have!" she said, unable to stop her tears from flowing. "Kyoko is my friend… I can't be mad at her…" she wiped her tears with her sleeve.

_Damn. What now? I have no idea what to do when shit like this happens… _

Uri jumps back onto Gokudera's head and resumes scratching it like there was no tomorrow. Gokudera cursed repeatedly in every language he knew. The box-weapon let go soon enough and ran to the gym.

"You two never get along…" Haru said with a little giggle.

_Tell me about it. But I just can't get rid of it… _He admitted. No matter how many times his face became a scratching post, he could never bring himself to hurt the little guy… especially when it looked at him with its big red eyes… "Come back here Uri!" he chased, with Haru behind him.

"Finally!" He said, taking Uri from the floor, but he escapes and runs off again. "Would you stop doing that?!"

"H-hahi?!" Haru suddenly realized where they were… in the middle of the dance floor, with everybody looking at them.

_Haru? _Tsuna noticed her presence for the first time that evening. "Dance! Dance! Dance!" the crowd chorused.

"No friggin way." Gokudera stated, trying to make a break for it, but was blocked by some of his classmates. "Come on Gokudera, it's just a dance!" Yamamoto said.

_You don't know how much I want to blow that idiotic smile off your face, baseball-idiot._

Haru flushed with embarrassment. Maybe coming here was a mistake.

Tsuna sensed this. "Gokudera-kun… maybe you should dance with Haru… just this once."

Gokudera sighed. "Fine, if that's what Juudaime wants."

"Hahi?" Haru was taken by surprise when her hands were taken and they began to dance. "What are you doing Gokudera-san?"

"Stupid woman." He muttered under his breath. The other people began dancing with them too.

"Could you please stop calling me stupid?" Haru said. "Only stupid people call other people stupid. And… you don't have to do this you know."

"If it's what the tenth wants…" he said. "…it's going to be done."

"I didn't know you knew how to dance." She said, in step with him. Well of course they had dance lessons in Midori Middle School. It's an exclusive school for girls after all.

_How can you not learn, when they began teaching you how ever since you were a kid? All those stupid parties… stupid piano recitals… stu—A-aniki?!_

"You should take better care of your pets, Hayato." Bianchi said, holding Uri in her arms.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid cat! _His stomach wanted to go out through his throat, and he was trying his best to suppress the urge to vomit.

"Hahi! Are you all right?" Haru said, as she tried to keep him from collapsing.

_Does it look like I'm alright?!_

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna rushed to his side. _Why is Bianchi here? Wait a minute… she's wearing the catering service's uniform… it can't be poison cooking, can it?_

"Gokudera?" Yamamoto said, checking to see if he was okay.

"Oi! Octopus-head! What extremely happened?!" even Ryohei joined in.

"I'll take care of Hayato." Bianchi said, letting Uri down and carrying Gokudera on her back.

"N-no… I'll stay here…" he said, trying to hold it in.

"What are you saying?" Bianchi said. "You need to rest."

_No… please… don't… _He lost consciousness moments later.

The next thing he knew, he was back in his studio apartment, waking up to the sound of his alarm clock.

* * *

::Ugh, I think this was a little too cheesy. Anyway, this might end up to be multi-chaptered, but I'm not exactly sure yet.

::The title of this fic is taken from Zidane's (Final Fantasy IX) Destiny Odyssey in Dissida: Final Fantasy.

::Thank you so much for reading! Please Review!


	2. Collision

::Well, whatever… this is now multi-chaptered. Thanks very much to Kurisutiin-chan for getting me some much-needed inspiration. And of course to KHR's awesome author, for getting Tsuna and the others back home from the future… whoops, spoiler. Oh yeah, and thank whoever invented the genius idea that is summer vacation.

::Since this chapter does contain a lot of Hayato Gokudera, meaning there will be swearing. Quite a lot too.

::I don't own KHR! But, it would be awesome to.

* * *

"**.Collision."**

Gokudera Hayato pushed the snooze button and tried to get back to sleep. _A few more minutes late wouldn't hurt… _Well, at least he tried to. Of course Uri wouldn't let him. "Fine, fine." He said, forcing the cat's paws out of his hair. "I'm awake."

He grabs a towel and turns on the shower. "FUCK!!!" he shouts, waking up the entire apartment floor. "Who the hell turned the damn heaters off again?!" _Well, he'll get what's coming to him, whoever he is. _He takes a shower in the ice-cold water anyway, and shivers while changing clothes. He was about to charge outside and blow whoever turned the heater off to smithereens, but a voice stopped him.

"Good morning, Hayato." Bianchi said, smiling at him from the kitchen counter.

"The heck are you doing here?!" He said, thanking the gods that she didn't forget to wear her orange goggle-looking sunglasses.

"Making you breakfast." She replied. "I was worried when you passed out last night."

_So that wasn't all a nightmare? Fuck this. _"I can manage fine by myself." He said, while thinking up a possible excuse. "I have to go anyway."

"Where? School?" she asked, a knowing smile on her face. "It's Saturday."

_Oh yeah. There's still no way I'm eating whatever that is. _"Uh… I just remembered… baseball-head told me we had to go somewhere. I really gotta go." He was out the door a second later.

_Coward. _Bianchi almost says aloud, but just smiles and still finishes her cooking.

_Well, my day's officially ruined. First the damn water is freezing… then SHE just has to be all nice and cook me breakfast… I'd rather die than eat her cooking again, I'd probably die if I did anyway._

_Oh yeah, I haven't eaten anything since before last night. _

_

* * *

_"Thanks for all the help Yamamoto-san… but you shouldn't bother…" Haru said cheerfully as Yamamoto carried her shopping bags.

"No problem!" He said, just as cheerfully. "You were going near my old man's shop anyway."

"Do you usually stay there on weekends?" Haru asked.

"Yeah. When I'm not playing baseball, training, or hanging out with the others…" he answered. "…I spend some time with the old man."

"You're lucky. Haru never gets to spend much time with her dad." Haru answers absentmindedly. "He's always away on conferences or trips… but it is nice when he's around."

"Hey look! It's Gokudera." Yamamoto calls the silver-haired bomber as he passed by.

"Are you feeling better Gokudera-san?" Haru asked.

"Yeah. Whatever." He answered dismissively, without bothering to stop and look their way.

"We were just about to get some food…" Yamamoto said. "…want to join us?"

Gokudera eyed them both… "No, I'm just going to bother you two if I did."

"I-it's nothing like that!" Haru said, catching on. "Haru just happened to bump into Yamamoto-san on the street."

"Yeah. Literally." Yamamoto chuckled.

Honestly, Hayato would've left if it wasn't for the digestive acids eating away at his stomach. "Fine."

They made their way into the sushi shop and Yamamoto took care of their orders.

"So, Gokudera-san… what is your dad like?" Haru asked, remembering the topic earlier.

"Why?" he answered with a question.

"Haru was just curious…" she answered.

Gokudera pondered how to best answer the question without giving himself away. "I don't remember." _I don't want to remember._

"Oh…" That sad innocence was again present in Haru Mirua's face. "…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's nothing." Hayato said dismissively. "He's not dead. But I haven't seen him in a long while." _And I have no plan to._

Awkward silence followed… luckily though, Takeshi was back after a short while with their orders.

"I hope you like these." Takeshi said, sitting next to Hayato.

"Arigato, Yamamoto-san." Haru replied rather cheerfully, happy for a change of topic. "Unagi is always the best."

"Well, we all have our favorites." Takeshi said. "What's yours?" he asked Gokudera.

"Uh… anything." He answered dismissively. "The food here is really different to what I used to eat."

But he did eat anyway, he was hungry, that was all. They say that hunger will make any food taste good.

"Right, Gokudera-san is from Italy." Haru said cheerfully, probably imagining what it would be like to be there. "Is it nice there?"

"Sometimes." He answered vaguely. _When you're not being chased down by mafia or being forced to eat poisoned food before a piano recital. _He thought bitterly. _I keep thinking to myself a lot when I'm in a bad mood._

"Oh." Haru said, and just continued eating.

_Great, now she thinks she said something wrong. _"It's okay there, they have museums, and ruins, and Rome is there too…" he said, trying to sound a bit more cheerful. _Well that was pathetic, 'come to Italy! You can find Rome there!' I should've given her a travel brochure while I was at it. _

To his surprise, Haru was again, back to her cheerful self, and smiled. "Haru has always wanted to go to Rome… Haru thinks it's fascinating."

_If you consider a city where prisoners fought to the death in gladiator matches just to entertain a few people fascinating, then yeah. _

Another long, dragging moment of silence followed. Broken only when Yamamoto' s dad enters and gives them another plate of sushi, on the house.

"Thanks otoo-san!" Yamamoto said, glad to be able to finally talk. _The atmosphere between these two is suffocating, but it was kind of funny watching them fake each other out. Why do they bother? They should be shouting at each other by now… usually. _He chuckled to himself.

"What're you laughing at, baseball-idiot?" Gokudera said.

_You. _"Nothing, no reason, like you always say." Yamamoto said brightly.

_Something is definitely going wrong here… he would never say something that smart… _"Fine. Well, I'm outta here."

"Thank you, come again." Takeshi said jokingly.

"Haru has to go too." Haru said, taking her shopping bags.

"You sure you can carry all that by yourself?" he asks, looking at all the bags.

"Yes. Haru will be fine." She said brightly. "Thank you, Yamamoto-san."

"Okay." Takeshi said, and he cleaned up the dishes.

* * *

A few steps away…

_When you get those two together they're so cheerful I could barf._ Hayato thought as he fingered a cigarette, absentmindedly wondering whether to light it or not.

Back in the sushi shop…

Just as Takeshi was about to get the new customer's next order, a shout from the street stopped him. _So much for them not shouting each other's heads off… _he almost chuckled, but the next thing he heard made him run out the street and leave the customer wondering.

"CALL AN AMBULANCE! Someone's been hit by a car!" a random passerby screamed.

When he came out, Hayato was on his phone and the sirens could be heard from a distance. And Haru was… lying on the asphalt, shopping bags scattered all around her.

"Stupid woman… she shouldn't have bought so much stuff if she wouldn't be able to carry it all." Hayato said angrily, kicking down a trash can in the process.

Takeshi would've shouted at him for calling her stupid at a time like this if he wasn't worried himself, and if he didn't know that that was just how Hayato handled himself.

The ambulance was there in a matter of moments, Haru was put on the stretcher, and Takeshi and Hayato came with it.

"What happened?" Takeshi asked, staying calm.

"Someone tried to steal one of her bags, I was already on the other side of the street, so I was able to get a hold of the guy… but as she was running to him, this car came from out of nowhere, and… I… I wasn't able to stop her. And the thief escaped while I was distracted." Gokudera said. "What kind of right-hand man messes up like this?! The tenth is going to kill me! A right-hand-man who can't even protect the family properly. Shit, I am so stupid!"

"Calm down a second. It's not your fault. I'm sure Haru and Tsuna would say the same." Takeshi said. "Besides, we have other things to worry about…"

"When I see that fucker I'm going to blow him up and he's going to wish he never tried to harm the Vongola Family." Hayato said, clenching his fist, looking at the unconscious Haru. "He's going to go the same way as the ones in that car."

"Let's get Haru safe first." Takeshi said, getting down from the ambulance so the medical staff could get her to the Emergency Room.

Once she was out of the Emergency Room and moved to a private room, Tsuna, Kyoko, and the others arrived at the hospital.

Hayato however, was nowhere to be found. Takeshi explained everything to the others. Kyoko was next to tears, but Tsuna was relieved that she was going to be okay. There were no life-threatening injuries. Haru was going to be fine.

Bianchi however, still had a worried look on her face, and it had little to do with Haru's injury.

* * *

Three days later, Haru still hadn't woken. The room was now filled with different flowers, and some of Haru's favorite cakes, and lots of get well soon cards from her friends in school, and the walls were sticky-taped with Lambo and I-pin's drawings. Mostly pictures of some Lambo-like creature eating something that resembled candy… Haru's parents weren't angry at all about what happened, just shaken, and they actually wanted to thank Hayato for acting quickly… but, he still hasn't shown up. 'Give him our thanks, and tell him not to blame himself.' They said.

"So the doctor keeps going on about how kids are getting to adventurous these days…"Takeshi said jokingly as they watched over Haru. "He even asked me when I was planning to return to get myself fixed up again."

"It's not like we get hospitalized every week…" Tsuna said.

"Yeah, but every month is still more than the usual person." Reborn replied. Everyone laughed.

"You should be more careful though." Kyoko said as she was slicing up some cake, she suddenly stopped when she saw Haru's blanket move.

"Uh…" Haru stirred.

"Haru-chan! You're finally awake!" Kyoko ran to the bedside, welling up with tears of joy.

But the biggest surprise? Haru's next words:

"Huh?... who are you?"

* * *

::And that's it. Thank you for reading.

::Tin! Ayan, nag-update na ako. Nahirapan ako ah. Mag-update ka na rin!

::Again, thanks for reading, please review.


	3. Fate

::Wow, thanks for all the reviews. I never thought I did that well. (marami palang Pinoy sa fandom na 'to.)

::So, while my little brother won't get his butt off the PC and let me play, and I've read the latest manga chapter and watched the new episode, I bring you the next chapter. Haru will now be talking in first person, that's just the kind of amnesia this is.

::I don't own Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! (they spell that in so many ways) Or any of its fantastic characters.

* * *

"**.Fate."**

"What do you mean, Haru-chan?" Kyoko said, unable to keep the tears from flowing. "It's me, Kyoko."

"Kyoko?" Haru mused. "Nakamura from class 3-C? Where am I and what are you doing here?"

"No, no. Kyoko Sasagawa, from Nami-middle!" She urged, hoping she would remember.

"Nami-middle?!" Haru said, surprised. "How do you know who I am?! I don't even go to your school." She searched the room for a familiar face… but she found none. Everyone in the room were strangers to her, merely faces she sometimes saw in the street… that brown haired guy looked a lot like that perv in boxers she bumped into a long while ago...

_How can she not remember us?! _Tsuna panicked in his brain. Everyone was speeches with surprise.

"She's got amnesia." Reborn said ominously.

"Is that some kind of candy?" Lambo asked cheerfully.

"It means she can't remember anything!" Tsuna shouted in frustration. _How are we going to explain this to her parents?!_

Lambo cried after being shouted at.

"Stop picking on the little kid!" Haru said, "He's not the only confused one here."

"It's your duty as the boss, Tsuna." Reborn said, hitting Tsuna on the leg. "Explain."

And Tsuna did, to an extent. He left out the mafia part, which, when you think about it, is a really, really big part. For now, everyone was going to go with the whole 'we're-friends-from-different-schools-that-met-at-last-year's-festival-and-you-got-amnesia-from-getting-hit-by-a-car'. Which Tsuna admitted in his head that it was pretty lame, but he decided to leave out the whole mafia thing for a reason.

_She might like it better this way… she can live without all those bad memories, and now, she's safe, away from all that stuff. _He told himself. _I just hope it's what she wanted._

The doctor came in and told them to leave a few minutes later.

* * *

"I hope you're sure about what you did, Tsuna." Reborn said, sitting on Yamamoto's shoulder.

"I respect your decision, Tsuna." Yamamoto said, smiling.

"But, Tsuna-kun…" Kyoko said, worry in her voice. "…won't she find out sooner or later? I don't think amnesia is permanent."

"It's for her own good…" Tsuna tried to explain. "…I don't think she could've taken in everything so suddenly."

"But it didn't sound like you still plan to tell her…" Bianchi said, carrying a sleepy Lambo and I-pin in her arms.

Tsuna faltered a little. "I… actually… I don't." He said, hoping that they would understand. "You see… now she's safe from all that stuff. She doesn't know about the mafia anymore, so she'll live a normal life, the other mafia won't think she's involved in anything about the Vongola."

"But… when her memories come back…" Kyoko muttered.

"Then she would've lived a normal life for a while, and by the time her memories come back, she has a choice, whether to live normally, or go back to the way things were…" Tsuna explained.

"That's very thoughtful of you Tsuna… but… I don't think you have the right to decide this for her." Bianchi sighed.

"And when her memories do return… it's impossible to know all that and live normally." Kyoko said. "It's really different, trying to act normally when you know something like that is happening."

"Please, everyone…" Tsuna asked. "Let's just give it a try. This is Haru's chance at a normal life… her life was different before she met all of us. We don't have to stay away from her… just… act like you would normally… and make sure she doesn't find out about the mafia."

"I don't really understand what you're trying to do, Sawada." Ryohei said. "But I think giving her a choice is extremely better than forcing all that stuff on her."

"Okay, Tsuna. Don't worry. I'll do my best to act as normal as possible." Yamamoto said.

_It's not you I'm worried about… _Tsuna thought, eyeing Bianchi, Lambo, and the others.

"I'll just say this: Haru is stronger than you think." Bianchi said.

"You're the boss, Tsuna." Reborn said. "But I think we should keep an eye on her… there's something suspicious about that accident."

"What do you mean, Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

"…maybe it wasn't an accident." He said darkly.

* * *

After going their separate ways home, Tsuna reached his house with the others. Bianchi took Lambo and I-pin to their rooms, and Reborn was already asleep. Tsuna was still helping his mom with the dishes when Bianchi came in wearing her orange-tinted sunglasses.

"Tsuna, I'll go out for a while…" Bianchi said.

"Okay." Tsuna replied, putting away some dishes. "But isn't it already late?"

"I'm going to Hayato's place. I haven't seen him since the accident." Bianchi said. "I'm getting worried."

"In that case, I'll go with you." Tsuna said.

"Just take care, Tsu-kun." Nana said.

"Yes mom." And he grabbed his jacket and went with Bianchi.

"Actually, I've never seen where Gokudera-kun lives." Tsuna said on their way.

"It's a simple apartment." Bianchi replied.

And they were there after a few moments.

Bianchi knocked on the door, and wasn't surprised to get no answer.

"He's not here, again." Bianchi said, looking into one of the windows. "I'll wait for him to come."

"You're going to wait for him out here?" Tsuna asked.

"No." She said, taking a key from her pocket and opening the door.

"Does he know you have duplicates of his keys?" Tsuna asked rhetorically.

"No." Bianchi said, with a knowing smile. "I guess that's why he gets so surprised to see me sometimes."

_Anyone would. _Tsuna thought to himself, getting this strange feeling that someone was in the apartment with them. "I'll wait here too. I think he's blaming himself for what happened."

"That's exactly what I think." Bianchi said. "He's been hiding because he thinks it's his fault."

"No-one's blaming him." Tsuna said. "No one can. There wasn't anything anyone could've done."

"Yes there was." Gokudera emerged from the bedroom, looking like ha hasn't slept in days, he probably hasn't. He immediately begins to bow down on the floor at Tsuna's feet. "Sumimasen, Juudaime." And that went on for about half an hour, with many variations of 'sorry tenth', 'I should've done something', 'I couldn't protect her', 'it's all my fault', 'I understand if I can't be your right-hand anymore'… until he finally heard Tsuna tell him to stop.

"Like we said, no-one's blaming you." Tsuna said. "Haru's parents even want to thank you for saving her."

"Saving her? It's my fault she got hit by a car!" Gokudera said.

"Listen Gokudera-kun…" Tsuna was getting a little frustrated. "…it wasn't your fault."

"Her parents told us to tell you that you shouldn't blame yourself." Bianchi said.

"But…"

"She's fine." Tsuna said reassuringly. "She's okay…"

"Really?" Gokudera asked, immensely relieved.

"Yes… but…" Tsuna was unsure how to put it. "…she can't remember us."

"She has amnesia?!" he said. "No way… it's my fault…" Again, he proceeded to bow and apologize over and over, and seemingly couldn't hear Tsuna pleading for him to stop.

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF HAYATO!" Bianchi hit him on the head with a pillow. "How many times to we have to tell you that it wasn't your fault?"

He immediately stopped.

"Thank you, Bianchi." Tsuna gave a sigh of relief. "We told her that we were her friends from another school, and that we met at last year's festival. We didn't tell her anything about the mafia, or the Vongola, or anything like that… so please act normally around her. No bombs, no fights, okay?"

"You can count on me, Juudaime." He replied. "I won't fail anymore."

"I think you should meet her." Tsuna said. "We haven't got school." He gave a knowing look to Bianchi. "Actually, the whole week's been cancelled."

"Why?" Gokudera asked.

"The whole faculty and staff, and most of the students who attended the dance got sick with food poisoning." Tsuna explained with an exasperated sigh. "They blamed the catering service, but well, they still can't figure out how everyone got sick, since all the food from the buffet table was checked out, and there wasn't anything wrong with it."

"Oh." Gokudera said. _No surprise there. Good thing I didn't eat anything. Now everyone knows how it feels to want to barf out your intestines. _

"Think about it this way…" Bianchi smiled. "You've got a whole week holiday."

* * *

The next day, in Haru's hospital room…

"Well, at least I got amnesia and wasn't too far from home." Haru said, as cheerfully as ever. "Imagine if I was on vacation then got amnesia… I'd be living another life in this island somewhere…"

"And you meet this guy and fall in love, then your memories suddenly come back when your old boyfriend finally finds you." Kyoko added jokingly.

"Isn't that a TV show or something?" Takeshi laughed.

"I guess so." Haru said. "I wonder what it was like when we all met? You guys seem really different from the people I usually go with." She took a bite off of the cake Kyoko sliced for her. "Wait, this Hayato guy, he was the one with me, right?"

"Yeah." Takeshi answered. "He's still probably beating himself up about it."

"What is he like?" she asked.

"Uh…" Kyoko and Takeshi looked at each other, pondering how to best answer her question.

"He's… interesting." Takeshi said. "Silver hair…"

"Five-feet, five-inches tall…" Kyoko said.

"You know how tall he is?" Haru said.

"He's the same height as my brother." Kyoko replied.

"He's the top of our class, even if he sleeps most of the time…"

"Wow. He must be really smart." Haru said.

"Well, you could say that." Takeshi chuckled. "He calls people stupid…"

"Oh, so he's really a smart-ass." Haru laughed.

"He wears lots of rings and leather things." Kyoko said, finding a hard time describing Hayato's clothes.

"Basically, he dresses like a rebel." Yamamoto said.

Haru looked surprised.

"No, the other kind." Kyoko laughed.

"Oh, like delinquent." Haru said.

"But he's alright." Yamamoto said. "You can count on him."

A knock was then heard at the door.

"Hi Haru!" Lambo came in cheerfully and sat at the bedside table next to her bed.

"Hello… it's Lambo, right?" she said, smiling.

"Good morning everyone." Tsuna said, entering the room with a basket in hand. "Mom told me to bring this."

Then Hayato entered the room…

"Oi! Stupidera!" Lambo called. "Where's my candy?!"

"Stupid cow… how the heck should I know?!" he answered.

"You must be Hayato." Haru said.

"I haven't even introduced myself yet…" Gokudera said. _She must've really gotten amnesia, she's never called me by my first name before… and she's acting differently._

"They described you very well." She smiled.

* * *

::I guess I made the later part cheesier than a three-cheese pizza… but I updated two days in a row!

::I don't know why the inspiration to write keeps flowing into this story… I should be updating my other stuff… anyway, I'm happy about where this one is going.

::The TV show that Kyoko described, if it ever resembles the plot of something, I'm disclaiming it. I think I got that from a 'telenovela'. Whatever, it was just a random thought that made its way into my head.

::I'm rambling too much… anyway, the PC is free, so I'm gonna play now.

::Thanks for reading! Please review!


	4. Acceptance

::After laughing my head off at watching the Tagalog-dub of the Gamma-Gokudera fight… I bring you the next chapter! Okay, prepare for some… drama?

::I don't own Katekyoushi Hitman Reborn! I don't have much hope I ever will.

* * *

"**.Acceptance."**

"Uh… I don't really know how to say this… but… thank you." Haru said brightly at the silver-haired bomber.

"You shouldn't thank me." He replied. Everyone in the room except Lambo and I-pin (who were busy fighting over the green crayon) sighed in frustration. How many times do they need to tell him that it wasn't his fault?

"What do you mean?" She asked. "If you hadn't called that ambulance, I wouldn't be here right now. Who cares if the thief got away? I'd trade all my clothes and shoes for my life any day. And I have you to thank for that."

Bianchi was smiling in the background.

"See Gokudera-kun… no-one's blaming you." Tsuna said. "Everything's alright… more or less…"

"Bianchi-san, you told me you were siblings! You don't look very much alike." She said, giggling. "Except for the eyes."

"Well…" Bianchi eyed Hayato, trying to show that she wasn't sure she should tell her or not. The others got this uncomfortable feeling.

"We're half-siblings." He said. "We have the same father."

"Oh…" she said, losing some of her brightness. "…I shouldn't have asked."

Both Bianchi and Hayato said. "No, it's all right." At the same time. Everyone else in the room was pretty much surprised.

"I'm sorry." She said. _I shouldn't ask so many questions… I might accidentally ask about something I didn't even know before I lost my memories… _

_

* * *

_So, after that, Hayato was his usual self again, reading glasses, paranormal magazine, and the seat in the corner of the room all to himself. Takeshi turned the TV on to watch baseball, while Kyoko was busy with Lambo and I-pin. Tsuna was being himself, helping Kyoko out with the two. And Reborn, well… he was sleeping in Bianchi's arms.

"So, how much do you remember?" Takeshi asked out of the blue, it was commercial break on the TV.

"Well, I know that my name is Miura Haru. I know my address, my cell phone number, my landline, my e-mail address, and that I study at Midori Middle School, and I still remember that I was a Namahage for Halloween." She answered, thinking. "Actually, the last thing I remember was that I was on my way to school and there was this weird guy was running past me with only his boxers on."

_I haven't been in dying-will mode in a really long while. _Tsuna thought. _She's lost her memories for just about the past year. Her memories since she met all of us. _

_Is this all just a weird coincidence?_

"Hey Tsuna, isn't she talking about y-!" Takeshi was saying, before he got interrupted by a stuttering Tsuna.

"Huh?! You must mean someone else. Right?" he said nervously.

"Yeah, Tsuna-kun, don't you remember when you-." Kyoko was about to add.

Hayato got the message from his boss loud and clear. _Change the topic._

"So, Haru." _I've never called her that before. Well, I can't keep calling her 'stupid woman' all the time. _"You mean you remember everything up until about the time you met all of us." He said. "We seem to be the only ones you don't remember."

"I guess so. You guys told me we've all known each other for just about a year." She added. "How did we all meet?" _You're all kind of different from the people I usually hang out with._

"Uh… at last year's festival…" Tsuna began, thinking up a good story.

"…we were selling chocolate-coated bananas… and you bought some from us." Takeshi thought up quickly. _We did sell bananas at last year's festival… so we're not exactly lying._

_Well, that was random… _Hayato thought. "Yeah, and we watched the fireworks." Hayato added. _I remember not letting myself get killed just to be able to watch those damn things blow up. _

"Oh! That sounds like fun." Haru said. "I wish I could remember it all."

"We all wish you could." Kyoko said. _They did sell bananas, and we did watch fireworks… but… that wasn't the first time we all met. I can't lie to Haru-chan. I just can't._

_

* * *

_Then a knock was heard from the door. It was the doctor checking up on Haru and telling everyone that she needed her rest.

"Well, we'd better get going." Tsuna said. "Take care, Haru."

"Get well soon, Haru-chan." Kyoko said. "Come on Lambo-chan, I-pin-chan."

"I'll bring some candy again tomorrow!" Lambo said happily.

_You're the only one who's going to eat it. _Tsuna thought.

"Bye-bye." I-pin said.

"We'll be back tomorrow Haru." Takeshi said.

Hayato said nothing.

They were on the first floor when they passed Haru's parents on their way out.

"You're Haru-chan's friends from Namimori-Middle School, right?" Mr. Mirua asked.

They nodded in agreement.

"We'd like to thank all of you for all you've done for Haru-chan." Haru's mother added.

"It's Gokudera you should be thanking." Takeshi said, smiling.

Hayato looked uncomfortable. He probably was. "I-I'm sorry I wasn't able to-"

If he was uncomfortable before, well… now, he was probably having the shock of his life. Haru's mom was crying, and hugging him. "Thank you… so much."

"Haru-chan is our only child. We can't bear to lose her. She's all we have." Mr. Mirua said, comforting his wife. "We're indebted to you."

Haru's mom let go of Hayato. "We can't tell you how grateful we are."

_Why is everyone making such a big deal out of this? All I did was make a stupid phone call. _

_

* * *

_Everyone agreed to themselves, silently (in fear of being blown up) and rather jokingly, that a hug was all Hayato needed. He seemed to be in a much better mood on their way home, and everyone was pretty much sure he wouldn't be moping around blaming himself for what happened to Haru. The aura around him was lighter… like a gigantic weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Hayato." Bianchi said before they parted ways at Tsuna's house.

"Yeah." He replied bluntly. "I guess so." He eyed her suspiciously. _Don't you go hugging me too._

"Well… If you need anything, I'm here." She said.

"What's this all of a sudden?" he asked. "I don't remember being so nice to you." He turned his back to walk away.

"I know you hate me, but I'll always be your big sister." She said, closing the gate.

He didn't look back when he said: "I don't hate you."

_But your cooking is a whole different matter._

_

* * *

_

::Now that was really sappy… I guess the videogame I was playing (involving people dying dramatically in this really heavy kind of way) really had an influence on me this chapter.

::I think this chapter is shorter because, well… I actually made a written draft. And I discovered that my handwriting looks totally different now.

::Anyway, thanks for reading, please review. I promise the next chapter won't be this heavy.


	5. Assignments

::I've finally updated my other fics… so now I won't feel so guilty about updating this one…

::I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! That's why this is fanfiction.

* * *

"**.Assignments."**

"Welcome back, Haru!" Everyone said once she entered her house for the first time after getting back from the hospital.

"…wow…" she said, a little speechless. "So this is why I've been seeing less and less of you guys…"

"Well, we had to prepare everything." Kyoko said happily, showing Haru to her seat.

"You shouldn't have gone through all this trouble." She said, though it was clear that she was enjoying herself.

"It wasn't any trouble at all." Yamamoto said. "We had fun preparing it."

"This party is number three on my rankings of best parties this year." Fuuta said happily.

"Thank you, everyone." She said.

Well, everyone proceeded to entertaining themselves. Lambo was stuffing himself (as usual), I-pin was reminding him to chew his food, Haru's parents were talking to Tsuna, thanking him. Bianchi was worrying over the amount of exotic spices they put in the food, Yamamoto was well, being himself… and as usual, Hayato was mulling over whether the food was safe to eat or not… but he was also mulling over what his boss said to them before Haru arrived from the hospital.

* * *

"Reborn told me he felt that there was something suspicious about Haru's accident." Tsuna explained to everyone.

"It seems to be too much of a coincidence for her to just get pick-pocketed and then hit by a car." Reborn said. "You have to remember… you're all members of the Vongola Family now."

_This is why I never even wanted to be in the mafia! _Tsuna thought.

"So… someone is threatening the Juudaime's Family?" Gokudera asked, with both anger and worry.

"Why Haru?" Yamamoto asked. "She isn't a guardian…"

"Maybe that's exactly why." Reborn replied. "It's not easy to attack any of the guardians, you've all fought many battles. Haru is innocent, and an easier target… maybe they're trying to put pressure on us… or threatening us."

"I don't exactly get it… but we should prepare to the extreme!" Ryohei said with his usual vigor.

"That's why… I think we should all be more careful." Tsuna said. "And don't let Kyoko-chan and the others know about this, it'll only make them worry."

"We'll have to put everyone under some surveillance." Reborn said. "Ryohei, since Kyoko is your sister…"

"Naturally, I'll protect her extremely!" he replied.

"Tsuna and I will be able to take care of everyone living in Mama's house." Reborn said. "Bianchi is there, and Lambo is still also a guardian…"

"I'll take care of my old man." Yamamoto said. "But I'm already doing that."

"I'm worried about Chrome." Tsuna said.

"She's got that yoyo-guy and the animal-freak." Gokudera said. "Besides, Rokudo Mukuro is also with her… sort of."

_Wait a minute… this leaves me… _"Gokudera-kun… since your house is nearest to hers… if it's okay with you…" Tsuna said cautiously.

"Leave it to me, Juudaime." Gokudera answered, rather reluctantly. _I won't fail anymore, it's my duty as right-hand-man, after all._

"Don't worry, Gokudera. I can help you out." Takeshi said cheerfully. "My old man can take care of himself most of the time anyway. He is the one that taught me…"

"I don't need your-" Hayato began to say, but was interrupted by Reborn.

"I agree. If this really is an attack on the Vongola, then that makes Haru its first victim." He said. "There's a big chance that she might still be their target. So having both of you protect her seems like a good idea. Fuuta agreed that she might be the most likely to get attacked."

"Fuuta?!" Tsuna said. "He's too young to get involved in this…"

"He's from the mafia, Tsuna." Reborn said. "Don't underestimate him. Besides, I asked him in a non-suspicious way."

"Everyone, please remember not to make it to obvious…" Tsuna said. "…we still have to make sure Haru doesn't figure out about us being in the mafia."

Then a knock on the door, and two voices were heard. "Tsuna-kun… Reborn-san… are you in here? Haru's about to arrive…" It was Kyoko's.

"Really… where are they?" Hana said. "It's just like them… being troublesome all the time."

"Kyoko!" Ryohei said, opening the door. "Uh… we were just having some male-bonding time. Right?"

"Yeah!" Tsuna said. "That was a great pitch in last week's game, Yamamoto."

"Thanks." He replied. "I really hope we get to win again."

"You know, you can talk about sports outside." Hana eyed them all suspiciously.

"It's different when you bothersome girls are around." Hayato said.

"What do you mean by that?!" she said, appalled.

"Hey, hey… let's all calm down." Tsuna said. "We're sorry we took a while, Kyoko-chan."

"It's no problem." She replied, smiling. "Haru-chan's almost here. We should get ready."

* * *

"I'm getting bored!!!" Lambo said suddenly after finishing his third helping of Takoyaki, breaking Hayato from his reverie.

"This is why I hate kids…" Hana muttered, trying to stay as far away as possible.

"Why don't we play a game?" Takeshi suggested.

"Like what?" Gokudera scoffed.

"What would you like to play, Haru-chan?" Kyoko asked politely.

"I don't know…" she replied. "…whatever you guys like, I guess."

"Well, you have a big yard…" Takeshi said, looking out the window. "…I guess we could do something outside."

"I have a volleyball…" Haru said.

"But you just got out of the hospital, Haru." Hana said. "Are you sure?"

"I'll be careful not to over-exert myself. I'll be fine." She replied. "…do you guys play volleyball?"

"Tsuna-kun, Gokudera-kun, and Yamamoto-kun are on our volleyball team." Kyoko said.

_Don't remind me… _Tsuna said, recalling his less-than-pleasant experience. "It's been a long time though…"

"Boys VS Girls then." Reborn said. "Bianchi, Haru, Kyoko, Hana, and I-pin… against Hayato, Takeshi, Tsuna, Ryohei, and Lambo. It's okay even if there are only five people on each team. It's all for fun anyway. Fuuta and I will take care of refereeing."

"Goodluck everyone." Reborn said. "Game, Start!"

"I'm sure you're still awesome, Juudaime." Hayato said encouragingly as Tsuna was about to serve.

Well… he was wrong. Tsuna missed the ball completely…

"Girls one, Boys none." Fuuta said.

"It's okay Tsuna." Takeshi said. "We'll get them next time."

The game continued on for about twenty minutes. Surprisingly, I-pin was the best scorer on the girls team, probably because of her martial arts prowess. For the boys, well, it was obviously Yamamoto. It was one of the oddest volleyball matches ever, with some hitting with inhumane strength, super-fast speed, or amazing analysis of ball trajectory. Lambo was even able to score because the ball bounced off his afro. The girls played well. Tsuna was terrible (no-one said this, of course)… but he did get lucky when he accidentally hit the ball with his head and scored a point.

_I guess you're still as clumsy as ever, Tsuna. _Reborn thought to himself.

"I'm sure you're just having an unlucky day, Juudaime." Hayato tried to cosole his boss.

"Yeah Tsuna." Takeshi said. "It has been a while. We've been focused on figh-… stuff."

"Thanks everyone." He said, sighing. _At least this was better than last time…_

Well, the game ended at a tie, stopping when Ryohei hit the ball so hard that it broke and… well…

"Game Over!" Fuuta said. "It's a tie."

"Well, that was fun." Takeshi said.

"Yeah." Haru replied. "Thanks to all of you."

They went back inside and had rested for a while before everyone decided to take their leave.

* * *

"Are you sure you can go to school already, Haru-chan?" Kyoko asked worriedly before everyone was about to leave. "You haven't even had a chance to rest yet…"

"I've got a lot to make-up for…" she answered. "…but strangely… It's like I haven't really forgotten what we've studied this past year…"

"If you're sure Haru-chan." Kyoko said.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine!" she said brightly. "Thanks again for the party!"

"Let's play again tomorrow Haru!" Lambo said.

"Okay, Lambo-chan." She replied. "Bye everyone!"

_Tomorrow is going to be a troublesome day, for sure._ Hayato thought to himself as he left with the others.

Oh, how right he was.

* * *

_I wonder who would have the nerve to attack the Vongola… _Gokudera thought while passing the time in a bookshop near Midori Middle School, trying to ignore the annoying chatter of the girls poring over the latest release of their favorite shojo manga. _Don't they know that scientific discoveries are about to be made? That fantastic mysteries are waiting to be unlocked? And they're worried about who the cutesy main character is going to end up with?! _

…_well, of course she's going to end up with the semi-cold, cool-acting, popular, rich, well-drawn guy, instead of the kind, smart, friendly, okay-looking best friend. How many times have they read the same story play out?!_

Well, the real wonder was how they were able to put up with it.

Sighing, and glad that Uri finally decided to go back into his Vongola box last night, so he wouldn't have to be the scratching post of the day, Gokudera put back the magazine he was reading, put the imminent alien invasion out of his mind… and readied himself for the most troublesome thing he was about to do.

_For the family, for the tenth, it's my duty… _He repeated in his head a hundred times over, just to stop his currently over-analyzing brain from psyching himself out.

And no, he is not about to dress up as a girl just to get into Haru's school.

* * *

::Well, it's almost midnight, I'm sleepy… and I've got review classes tomorrow!

::Thanks for reading, please review.


	6. Surveillance

::After laughing at Katekyo Homeroom (a special featuring KHR!'s seiyuus) on YouTube… On to chapter 6… get ready for some awkwardness… and maybe a little cheese on the side.

::_**Bold Italics**_ are said in Italian.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Surveillance."**

Gokudera was soon just a street corner away from Midori Middle School. Hands in his pockets and prepared for the worst, he makes his way into the front gates. Well, that was the plan… but he finds himself stopping, and pondering over the best method to accomplish his task.

_Wouldn't I need some kind of excuse to come here? My place is the nearest… but it's not exactly on the way here… hmm… maybe I should get a part-time job at that bookstore. Eh… for now I'll have to make up something. _He thought to himself.

"Hey… he looks familiar." One of the girls going out of the campus whispered to her friend. "I wonder what he's doing here."

"Maybe he's picking up his girlfriend." The girl next to her said. "He's from Nami-Middle right?"

"Hey… I know that guy!" another said. "That's Gokudera Hayato. My cousin who studies in Nami-Middle is crazy about him… she never stops talking about how smart he is."

"Really?!" the first one said. "He looks more like the class delinquent to me."

"I think that's why my cousin likes him so much. He sleeps in class and talks back to the teacher, but he always gets a perfect score on every test."

"Woah." The second one said. "That's amazing."

"Still… I've never seen him here before." She said. "He looks like he's waiting for someone."

_This is why I hate places like this. _Gokudera thought to himself.

"Huh?!" he heard a familiar voice say. "Gokudera-san? What are you doing here?!"

"Uh… I was just passing by." He answered lamely. "Let's get out of here." He said, obviously annoyed at the fact that many eyes were on them.

"So… why were you 'just passing by' over there?" Haru asked, with a little sarcasm in her tone.

"I was trying to apply for a job at the bookstore nearby." He answered. _Now I really have to get that job._

"I didn't know you liked books so much." She said, staying on topic.

"Well… it's not really for the books." He said. But suddenly, he felt this strange presence… sensing a threat, he grabbed Haru's arm and led her to the next street. _Who is that… it feels… familiar… but I can't take any chances. We need to get out of here._

"Ouch!" she said, making Hayato let go of her arm immediately.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"It's just a little sore from yesterday." She answered. "I'm sure yours hurt more."

Gokudera didn't get it, until he saw what she was looking at. "Oh, this… it's nothing. I wear them just to look cool." He lied, referring to the bandages on his arms.

"Oh… okay." She replied.

_There's 'that' look again… _he sighed to himself. It was the same look she always got after Tsuna explained something they were about to do, or before they were in a battle… it was the look she got after she smiles and acts like everything's okay, the worried look she has when Tsuna and everyone else weren't looking. _...I guess I'm not a very good liar after all, and so are you._

"What was that?" she asked, probably realizing that she looked worried. "Why were we rushing to get out of there?"

"I just didn't like it there." He replied. _That, and there was just something there that was bothering me._

Haru laughed. "Why? Are you scared of girls or something?"

"No…" he replied.

* * *

"I wonder how everyone else is doing…" Tsuna said after playing on his game console with Fuuta.

"I'm sure they're fine, Tsuna-nii." The boy replied, smiling.

"I hope so." He said.

"You should have more faith in your subordinates, Tsuna." Reborn said, after waking up from his most recent afternoon nap.

"It's not that I don't have faith in them…" Tsuna said, "…it's just that I'm worried about some of them not getting along."

* * *

They were now near a small commercial district. It was kind of crowded, so Hayato calmed down a little. _No-one would try anything with this many people around… unless they were crazy. _And there are a lot of crazy people in the mafia.

"Wait a minute…" Haru said as they passed by a couple of boutiques. "…why do you keep calling Tsuna-san 'Juudaime'?"

_Shit. I forgot about that. Here's another lie… _"Uh… we're both members of the volleyball team right? He was the tenth person to join. He kind of sucked in the beginning, so I never called him by his name, and it kind of stuck." _Forgive me, Juudaime… I can't tell her you're the tenth generation boss of the Vongola family._

"You should try calling him by his real name then." She said. "He's probably too nice to tell you it's bothering him."

_C-call Juudaime… T-tsuna?! I'd be disrespecting him, as his right-hand-man… I can't call him that… maybe I'll call him Sawada-donno, like Basil does… or Sawada-sama… but it doesn't sound right…_

She doesn't realize that she just asked Hayato to give up a part of his identity.

"Well, you don't have to if you don't want to…" she said, in fear of stepping out of line. "…I'm just saying…"

"No, you're right…" he said grudgingly. "…but it'll take some getting used to."

"OH! They've got new cakes!" Haru exclaimed after getting a good look at her favorite bakery's window display.

_Please don't go inside, please don't make me go inside… _Gokudera thought in his head. But of course Haru went inside, and of course, he had to follow.

"Two please." She said, smiling at the girl in the counter.

"Just a minute, Haru-chan." The girl replied, slicing a cake. "Who's he?" she asked with a perceptive smile.

"uhm…" she said, pondering on her answer.

"…a friend." He said, taking the cakes and putting them in the empty table.

"Thanks, Gokudera-kun." Haru said, taking the seat opposite him.

"It's nothing. Go eat your cake already." He said, trying to keep himself busy by looking outside.

"Huh?" she said, eyeing the two plates set before her. "Silly! The other one's for you!"

"You sure?" he replied. _She and Kyoko used to take all day in shops like this… and they only eat one slice?! Why the heck do they take so long?_

"Yeah." She said, taking a bite out of her own slice. "What? You think I would eat two slices by myself? And what would you do? Watch me eat?"

_That was the plan… sort of. You just made it sound so tacky._

_

* * *

_"Did everything go all right, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked Gokudera when he stopped by after taking Haru to her house.

"No problems, Juu… I mean, T-tsuna-san." He said uneasily.

Tsuna almost laughed. "Tsuna-san?"

Hayato bowed his head. "Sumimasen, Juudaime… it's just that… Haru asked why I kept calling you that… and… I had to make up an excuse."

"It's alright." Tsuna smiled. "What's important is you tried your best, and she didn't find out."

"I told her I called you Juudaime because you were the tenth person on the volleyball team, and that you were… bad at it… so I never called you by your name." he confessed. "Please forgive me, Juudaime."

"I told you… it's okay!" Tsuna said. _Though it would've been better if my volleyball skills weren't mentioned. _"You did very well, Gokudera-kun. Sorry for all the trouble."

"Thank you, T-tsuna-san." He said awkwardly before leaving. "…oh… and… I felt a weird presence today… they felt familiar to me, but I wasn't able to find out who they were. I promise I will. See you tomorrow, Juudaime."

"Be careful." Tsuna said, pondering on his last report. _So… Reborn was right. Who knows what could've happened if everyone was left unguarded… _

_

* * *

_**_"I can't believe we'd run into him, of all people."_** A tall, black haired man in a tuxedo said to his partner. **_"He's with our target."_**

**_"So the rumors are true…" _**his partner replied.**_ "__…the boss's son is working for the Vongola. So, this is where Hayato-kun went after running away from the mansion."_**

**_"Why are we going after the Vongola anyway?"_** the tall one asked. "**_Before the boss became ill, Bianchi-san was sent here to make peace with the Vongola Decimo."_**

**_"Maybe that was just a front, so they would trust our family."_** His partner replied.

**_"It doesn't seem like something the boss would make us do, though."_**

* * *

::Oho, and there it is. Chapter 6! And you get to meet two henchmen as well. Who are they, and what do they want? Well, you'll find out when I make up names for them.

::Sorry if the cake thing turned out too cheesy… I guess I've probably been watching animes that have some shojo mixed in them too much. But I have to say, this was my favorite chapter to write so far… it wasn't stressful at all.

::Thanks for reading, please review!


	7. Visitors

::Here's chapter 7. Words in _**bold italics**_ are said in Italian.

::Oh yeah, about the henchmen… Tall, black-haired man is Giuseppe. Smaller dude, partner, is Giovanni. I know, their codenames are so stereotypical Italian, because they are. They're going to be pretty minor, so don't worry.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Visitors."**

"I'm home!" Haru said cheerfully as she arrived at her house.

"How was your first day back, Haru-chan?" her mother asks.

"Everything was okay." She answered. "I could catch up to our lessons."

"Well, change your clothes, dinner's ready." She said. "Dad's going to be home late today, he got an emergency meeting at the university."

"Okay." She said, going up to her room to change clothes.

Minutes later, she was sitting at the dinner table with her mom, talking about the day's events.

"I saw Gokudera-kun see you home today." Her mom mentioned.

"It turns out he works at a shop near the school… I guess he passed by…" Haru said. "…I wonder if he usually did that…"

"Maybe he's still worried about you?" her mom said teasingly.

"I-it's nothing like that!" Haru answered a little sheepishly. _At least… that's what I think._

"Well, if you say so."

* * *

_Who were those people… and why did they feel so familiar… _Gokudera thought as he switched on the lights in his apartment. _It's so quiet when Uri's not out._

He looked at his Vongola box and pondered whether to let his box weapon out or not… but a scene of Uri's claws clasping on to his face replayed itself in his mind, and he decided to just take a walk and clear his head. It would give him some time to think about who that presence belonged to.

* * *

_What was that today… _Haru thought to herself as she got ready to sleep. _I think I just remembered something… _

"Juudaime's right-hand-man can't just stay on his back like this!" Hayato said, after being bandaged up in hospital bed and trying to get up to go train.

"Stop it!" Haru said, pushing him down "It'll only get worse if you keep moving!"

"I can't-!" He said, until he saw Bianchi open the door to enter the room. He felt sick and immediately fell back down.

"I told you." Haru said as she put the blanket back on him. "Rest up first, or your injuries won't heal properly!"

"I-It's not that." He muttered.

"Oh… sorry." Bianchi said, smiling as she closed the door behind her.

_What kind of memory is that! _Haru thought to herself after trying to recall it. _And if it was a memory and not just my imagination… why was he injured in the first place? Even now… he can't be wearing bandages 'just to look cool' there must be a reason… and what was all that right-hand-man stuff?_

_

* * *

_In one of Namimori's quieter streets…

"Just one… for old time's sake." Gokudera said to himself as he put the cigarette to his lips and proceeded to light it. The flame was about to reach it, when something stopped him that made him curse out in Italian.

"_**Giovanni?"**_ He said, astounded. **"**_**What the heck?**_**"**

"_**I'm deeply sorry, Young Master." **_The seventeen-year old replied, dropping the cigarette and crushing it with his expensive shoes made of Italian leather. _**"But I cannot allow you to defile yourself. Is this what you have become since you joined the Vongola?"**_

"_**You've got no right to tell me what to do. What the hell are you doing here anyway?" **_The silver-haired bomber said. _**"I've been working for the Vongola for more than three years now."**_

"_**I only heard rumors. I can't believe that you've gotten such a foul mouth, Young Master." **_He said almost sarcastically.

"_**Shut up! Stop calling me that!" **_Hayato said, and he didn't know if he should be happy or not to see his old bodyguard. _**"I'm not your 'Young Master' anymore. Now answer my question, what the hell are you doing in Japan, and who sent you here?"**_

"_**I just wanted to see how my Young Master has been doing…" **_He smiled.

"_**Don't screw with me." **_Hayato said, now irritated. _**"Do you have anything to do with the accident with Haru?" **_

"_**Haru? That cheerful girl you were with at that cake shop?" **_He said almost teasingly. _**"I didn't know she meant so much to you… or has Doctor Shamal finally rubbed off on you?" **_

"_**I said answer the question!" **_Hayato clenched his fist in anger.

"_**That's enough." **_The tall, black-haired man appeared. _**"Stop bothering our former master, Giovanni." **_

"_**But Giuseppe… he'll always be my Young Master." **_Giovanni said, smiling.

"_**Guiseppe… you're here too?" **_Hayato said, a little relieved. Giuseppe was usually the more intelligent one. _**"Then answer my question." **_

"_**My apologies, Young master… but our reunion must end here. We are not allowed to tell you of our reasons for being here, nor can we tell you our purpose." **_Giuseppe said. _**"But it was nice to have seen you again, and I am glad you are doing well. I only wish we could tell you…" **_

"_**Then tell me! Damn it!" **_Hayato said.

"_**I cannot. You know what the punishment for disobedience is." **_Giuseppe said firmly. _**"Your father has longed to see you, Young Master. I am afraid he has been stricken by an illness as of late."**_

"_**I couldn't care less." **_Hayato muttered.

"_**I can't believe you just said that!" **_Giovanni said. _**"What's happened to you? You used to be the happiest, most well-behaved kid I've ever seen… you were so good when you played the piano… now you're telling me you don't even care about your own father?"**_

"_**He never cared about me, so why should I care about him?" **_

"_**The boss has always cared about you, Young master." **_Giuseppe said.

"_**What if we were sent here to ask you to go back home to Italy?" **_Giovanni said.

"_**That's enough Giovanni! It's time to leave." **_Giuseppe began to leave.

"_**You've changed so much, Young Master…" **_Giovanni had a sad smile on his face as he followed his partner. _**"…but it was still nice to see you again." **_

_I don't think I can say the same. _Gokudera thought.

_

* * *

_Minutes later, at Tsuna's house…

"Juudaime!" Hayato said as Tsuna opened the door to let him in. "I'm sorry to bother you at this hour…"

"It's okay." Tsuna said, yawning. "What's the problem?"

"I need to talk to Aniki." He replied.

"You need to talk to Bianchi?" Tsuna asked, a little surprised.

"What is it, Hayato?" Bianchi said, thankfully, she was wearing her sunglasses.

"I got a surprise visit today." He said. "From Giovanni and Giuseppe."

"What?" She said, clearly shocked.

"Let's all get inside first." Tsuna said, opening the lights to the dining room.

"Thank you, Juudaime." Hayato said as he took off his shoes and went inside.

He soon told Bianchi and Tsuna about his conversation with his former bodyguards.

_I almost forgot Gokudera-kun was born into a mafia family… _Tsuna thought. "So, they didn't tell you why they were here or what they were doing?"

"Unfortunately, Juudaime." Hayato said.

"But seeing henchmen of another family just days after Haru's incident can't just be a mere coincidence." Reborn said. "They could have been the cause…"

"Father wouldn't order such a thing." Bianchi said. "Especially now that Hayato is part of the Vongola, and I am also here…"

"Giovanni didn't know that I was working for the Vongola." Gokudera said.

"Giovanni doesn't know a lot of things." Bianchi said. "They were your former bodyguards… so they wouldn't really have important information, probably don't even know that we don't have the same mother. Besides, I came to Japan to make peace with the Vongola. When I arrived, I didn't expect you to be here."

"After I ran away from home, I was on the streets looking for a family that would have me. It was hard, but I was finally taken as a hitman for the Vongola… before I became Juudaime's Storm Guardian." Hayato said. "I was sent here because Juudaime's father and Reborn-san recommended me."

_Gokudera-kun must have had a very hard childhood… _Tsuna thought sadly.

"Regardless… I believe father would not have done anything to harm the Vongola." Bianchi said. "If he is ill… then someone else could be controlling the family."

"But why?" Tsuna said. "Why target us? Why Haru?"

"That's what we need to find out." Reborn said.

"What makes you so sure that Father would have nothing to do with this?" Hayato said angrily. "It's not like he's never had someone killed before."

Bianchi slapped his little brother's face. "You still think that he was the reason for your mother's death, don't you?"

_This is getting too personal… I think we should get out of here, they need to talk about this by themselves. _Tsuna thought to himself.

"You can't expect me to believe she just crashed off a cliff like that!" He said, raising his voice.

"I thought you understood." She was close to tears. "Father loves you."

_You came into this world, loved by both your parents… _those words from the future haunted his thoughts again, rendering him speechless.

"I'm going to Italy." Bianchi said, brushing off her tears. "I want to make sure if our family is connected to all this. Are you coming with me, Hayato?"

"Only if Juudaime tells me to." Hayato replied defiantly.

"I can't tell you to do something like that if you don't want to, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said, worried for the two. "It's your decision to make."

"Well, you better decide soon. If Father is sick, then I have no time to waste." Bianchi said, leaving the room. "I'm leaving in three days at the latest, as soon as the weather there clears up."

"We should try to find out everything we can in that time." Reborn said.

"I'll do my best, Juudaime." Hayato said.

"We all should." Tsuna said. "I'll go tell Yamamoto and Onii-san in the morning."

"If it's their fault all this happened… I'll make sure they'll pay." Gokudera said.

"You can't go against your own family, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said. "I can't let you do that."

"But my family is here. My family is the Vongola." Gokudera replied.

"He's still your father." Tsuna said. "I actually hope you could talk to him. But I can't make you do something you don't want."

"Thank you, Juudaime."

* * *

::Well, that was a fun chapter. It just suddenly had a life of its own. The plot moved forward a long way here. So, is he going to Italy? Is his family really connected to all this? What's going to happen to Haru? Expect some flashbacks in the next chapters...

::Was that waaay to dramatic? I hope I kept everyone in character. Oh, and Haru's flashback came from one of those Future Arc episodes… I can't remember which one, but it was one of those Gokudera-Haru moments in canon.

::Thanks for reading, please review!


	8. Misconceptions

::Well, after wasting all that effort preparing for a cosplay event last Saturday that ended up being cancelled… I bring you Chapter 8. Again, _**bold italics **_are said in Italian. _Italics _are thoughts.

::I don't own KHR. I'm one of its fans.

* * *

"**.Misconceptions."**

"_**Dr. Shamal! Is it true? I she going to see me today?!" **_A now three-year old Hayato asked his mentor.

"_**Well, it is your birthday, Hayato." **_The young doctor said. _**"She wouldn't want to miss the party."**_

The little kid smiles up at him. _**"Thanks!" **_

"_**Okay, okay, now go get changed… you don't want to be late, right?" **_Shamal said.

"_**Yeah! I'll go now." **_Hayato said, as he ran to his room and changed his clothes. After that he made his way to the music room.

"_**Young Master!" **_a five-year-old Giovanni said, running up to him. _**"You can't run in the hallway! What if you trip or something?!"**_

"_**Shut up! I'm going to be late! I can't keep her waiting!" **_The silver-haired boy said.

"_**Be careful!" **_ The older boy said. _**"You might run into someo-!"**_

"_**O-ouch!" **_Hayato said, after bumping right into his sister and sending her cookie tray flying. _**"S-sorry."**_

"_**It's okay." **_She said, brushing crumbs from her dress. _**"But all the cookies I baked for your birthday are ruined."**_

Secretly, Hayato was thanking the Gods for that. _I'm sure they taste awful…_ _**"Uh… It's alright… well, I gotta go!" **_and again, he was running.

"_**Why is he in such a rush?" **_Bianchi said as she began to pick up the cookies on the floor.

"_**He told me he was late for something…" **_Giovanni said as he picked up the tray on the floor. _**"Let me pick these up for you, Master Bianchi." **_

"_**I can do it." **_She said. _**"And stop calling me 'Master'. Bianchi is fine. We are the same age, you know."**_

"_**Okay…" **_he resigned. _**"Look… there's one cookie that didn't land on the floor. You can give it to Master Hayato later." **_

"_**I don't think it would've tasted very good… Hayato never says anything when he eats my cooking… he always gets this weird look on his face…" **_She said, sighing.

Giovanni then took a bite out of the cookie, and tried his very best to suppress the urge to vomit, and smiled. _**"It's great." **_

Bianchi smiled at him. _**"Thank you, Giovanni."**_

After that, Giovanni returned the broken cookies and the tray to the kitchen, and Bianchi made her way to her room to prepare for her little brother's birthday party.

Hours pass, and Hayato waited. The guests arrived, but she wasn't among them…

"_**What do you mean she isn't coming, Father?!" **_Hayato said to the man standing before him.

"_**She… she's on vacation in right now…" **_the man tried to explain, but there was an unusual uneasiness in his voice.

"_**But…but… when is she coming back?" **_The little boy asked, close to tears. _**"She was supposed to listen to me play the Quasi Una Fantasia today… she never told me anything about a vacation…"**_

"_**I'll listen to you play." **_The man said consolingly, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. _**"She said something important came up, and she's sorry she couldn't tell you. But don't worry… she'll be back soon enough. I'm sure she would have loved to hear you play…"**_

"_**Okay, Father." **_Hayato wiped his eyes with his hands, sat down, and played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

_You play beautifully… just like your mother… _his father thought, suppressing the tears that were threatening to fall. A Mafia boss cannot cry, a boss cannot show weakness. A boss must be strong, and must protect his family… even if he must protect them from the truth.

_It's beautiful…but so sad. _Bianchi thought, she had a bad feeling about this. _Miss Gokudera_ _would never have left without telling Hayato first. She seemed so happy when we told her about the party too…I wonder why she cares so much about Hayato… I wonder if they know that she sometimes follows him around when we go outside… _

Hayato never saw his old piano teacher again. It took five years before he would find out why she wasn't there, and who she really was… and when he did, he was never seen in the mansion again.

* * *

At present though, Hayato was once again, in front of Tsuna's house.

"Good morning, Juudaime." He said with his usual enthusiasim.

_He seems to be in a much better mood than last night. _Tsuna thought. "You too, Gokudera-kun."

"It's alright, Juudaime." He said. "I was just passing by before I go check up on Miura."

_Right… it's Saturday… _Tsuna thought. "I'm really sorry if it's taking up your time."

"No problem, Juudaime. It's nothing." He said.

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard coming from the house.

"What happened?!" Tsuna asked, out of breath as he ran into the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Tsu-kun." His mom said, like no explosion even took place. "Lambo-kun was just playing."

"Stupid cow!" Gokudera said, picking-up a soot covered Lambo from the floor. "You could've blown up Juudaime's house!"

"Shut up Stupidera!" Lambo said, taking out a pink grenade from the confines of his afro. "Lambo-san knows what he's doing!"

"Oh no!" Tsuna said, bracing himself for another explosion… but he opened his eyes a moment later, and there wasn't one.

"You shouldn't play with bombs, you Stupid Cow!" Gokudera said, shaking Lambo until everything in his afro, which included about twenty pink grenades, two lollipops, a bar of chocolate, a pack of gum, the ten-year bazooka, and Lambo's Vongola Ring and Vongola box.

"What are you doing, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked rhetorically. What he really meant was 'why are you shaking Lambo and making all this stuff fall out of his head? And how does he keep it all in there?'

"I'm making sure he doesn't have any more of those grenades hidden anywhere." He said, still not content after a minute of shaking without anything falling out.

_Well, he does keep a lot of explosives hidden, so he should know how to handle these things. _Tsuna thought. _It's funny how they're so much alike._

"Stop it Supidera! Stop!" Lambo said. "There's nothing left! It hurts!" he said, teary-eyed.

"Good." Gokudera then put back the Vongola Ring and the Vongola box into Lambo's afro. "I'm taking the Stupid Cow today, so he can't bother you, Juudaime."

"You don't have to, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said. _Though I do have plans with Kyoko… and Bianchi isn't here to babysit Lambo today…_

"I don't want to go with Stupidera!" Lambo protested, trying to free himself from Gokudera's grip.

"Shut up Stupid Cow!" Gokudera said. "It's not like I want to go with you either. You can go bother Haru."

"We're going to play with Haru?!" Lambo said excitedly, now pulling on Gokudera's hair. "Okay! Let's go Stupidera!"

"Oi! What's gotten you in a good mood?!" He said, trying to get Lambo to let go of his hair. "Excuse us, Juudaime!"

"See you later, Tsuna!" Lambo said. "Mama! Can we have Takoyaki for dinner tonight?!"

"Okay, Lambo-kun. Be careful, and have fun." Nana said as she waved them goodbye.

Tsuna sighed as he began to pick up the stuff that just fell out of Lambo's afro. "I hope everything's going to be okay."

"You have good friends, Tsu-kun." Nana said. "I'm sure they'll be alright."

* * *

"Let's go Haru!" Lambo said excitedly as he sat on Haru's arms. "Let's play!"

"Okay, Lambo-kun." Haru said cheerfully. "If it's okay with Gokudera-san."

"Who cares about Stupidera?!" Lambo said, verging on a tantrum. "Let's go!"

"Where are we going? You didn't tell me last night." Haru asked. "You just told me Lambo-kun needed a babysitter today because Tsuna-san was busy."

"Eh… wherever's fine." Gokudera said. _I just made up the babysitting excuse because I couldn't think of a better one last night… and at least I managed to keep this one out of Juudaime's hair for the day._"I don't know where this Stupid Cow would want to go anyway."

"Let's go to the park!" Lambo said happily.

"Okay, Lambo-kun." Haru said as they began to walk. "And Gokudera-san, please stop calling him stupid. He's just a kid."

"Whatever." Hayato said, putting his hands in his pockets.

They spent about fifteen minutes walking, with mostly Lambo talking about his favorite candies and how he would like to have some, while Hayato trying and nearly failing to keep his cool.

"Yey! We're here!" Lambo said excitedly as he jumped down from Haru's arms and went into the sand box. "I-pin will be so jealous when she finds out!"

"Where is I-pin anyway?" Hayato asked, because there wasn't really anything else to do.

"She went with Bianchi somewhere." Lambo said boredly, as he was busy making a makeshift sandcastle.

"Where?" Gokudera asked, now kind of curious.

"She told me it's where airplanes come from." Lambo answered.

"You mean the airport?" Haru said, joining the conversation. "Why? Is she going anywhere?"

"She's going to Italy." Gokudera said bluntly as he sat on an empty park bench.

"And you're not going with her? You're from there too, aren't you?" Haru asked as she also took a seat.

"You hate me that much, huh?" He said, kind of half-jokingly.

"It's not that…" Haru said. "…you know, you should go there if you want to. It must be hard living so far away from your parents."

"You don't know half of it." He muttered. "Besides, I don't think I want to see them right now, and things are so busy here… there are more important things to do…" _Like watch out for enemies and take out some attackers, and make sure you don't get hit by another car… _

"Well, I don't have the right to tell you what to do…" Haru said, as she watched Lambo play. "…so I'm not."

Then, a couple of middle-aged women arrived… and they eyed Haru, Gokudera and Lambo with this weird half-worried, half-alarmed look on their faces. Hayato's sharp hearing picked up words like 'seriously, kids today are so irresponsible, how to they expect to raise a child in that kind of environment' and 'I can't believe what they got themselves into… they're so young'.

Now he didn't know whether to be angry, furious, embarrassed, annoyed… or to just blow those two halfway into the Pacific Ocean. And of course, being Gokudera Hayato, he chose the final option.

Hayato was about to stand up and go over there… until Haru stopped him.

"Didn't you hear what they just said?" He whispered to Haru.

"Yeah… it's not like they tried to keep it down." She answered sheepishly. "And what do you plan on doing? Shout at them? Tell them off? Beat the hell out of them?"

"I was planning on presenting an intelligent argument." He said sarcastically. "But you're right, I can't just beat the crap out of a couple of bitter old ladies." _What would Juudaime and the other's think?_

"Good to see you're getting over your anger issues." She said jokingly. "Let's just get out of here. Come on Lambo-kun, let's get some ice cream."

"Ice cream! Yey!" Lambo said happily as he followed the two out of the park.

* * *

"Two tickets on the Monday flight to Italy." Bianchi said to the airline cashier. _I hope the other one doesn't go to waste._

"Who's the other one for?" I-pin asked curiously.

"Hayato, if he's willing to come with me." Bianchi said.

"Here you go ma'am. We hope you have a safe flight." The teller said. "The weather should have cleared up by then."

"I hope so." Bianchi said.

* * *

::Well, this should have been a lot longer… but I decided to just move the stuff to the next chapter so I could think about it some more. I liked writing the flashback, even if it is too sappy. I wonder who Haru's bodyguard is going to be if Hayato decides to go to Italy…

::Today's the day we make some history here in my country. I hope the election goes well. And because of that, the review classes I was supposed to have today got moved… so I have class tomorrow.

::Random thing: The Moonlight Sonata is one of my favorite pieces, and I think it kind of fits the mood of the flashback, so…

::Thank you for reading, please review.


	9. Directions

::I had to rewrite this Chapter 5 times. I finally got a version I was okay with.

::I don't own KHR, or any mentioned works of musical genius.

* * *

"**.Directions."**

They went to another of Namimori's commercial districts and Lambo was happily eating his ice cream.

"Where are we going next?" Haru said, looking around the shops.

"Uh… give me a second, I'll just check something out." Gokudera said, after sensing this weird presence that's been following them since they got out of the park. It was familiar… but not entirely threatening.

"O-okay then." Haru said, as Lambo guided her into a candy store.

After a minute of looking around for the familiar presence, he finally found out who it was.

"What are you doing here?" He told Basil, who now appeared from the alley.

"Master hath asked me to assist Sawada-dono, since he hath heard that there hath been a dilemma." He said. "Has thou seen anything out of the ordinary?"

"Everything's fine. I think you should let Juudaime know that you're here, before you do anything else." Hayato said.

"I will. Many thanks." Basil said, and he then took his leave.

* * *

_It's like everyone from Italy is going to Japan… and they're trying to make me do the exact opposite… What next? Don't tell me the Varia's going to pop up here in Namimori too…_ Hayato thought. _Where the heck is that stupid woman?_

He went back to where he got separated, but neither Haru nor Lambo was there. _I let them out of my sight for just a minute, and this happens! _He thought, frustrated, as he started to search. _Juudaime will be so disappointed… what if she gets attacked again?_

And then he finds her on the other side of the street, she's surrounded by four unruly looking guys that surely would cause trouble, with a Lambo close to tears and threatening to take out his Vongola Ring, muttering something like "…gotta…stay…calm…"

_Shit! I can't let her see Lambo use the Ring… she'll surely suspect something! And I can't let anything happen to her._

So, regardless of all the traffic passing by, and the dangers of jaywalking, he quickly makes his way over there, dodging a few cars and ignoring a few Japanese swear words from angry drivers… only to see Haru perform a perfect German Suplex on one of the troublemakers, rendering said troublemaker completely knocked out.

"The girl's got moves." One of them said. "But I don't think she can handle all of us."

"Oi!" Gokudera called, as he grabbed one of them by the collar. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"G-Gokudera?" The one he grabbed said fearfully. "S-Sorry… we didn't know she was-!"

Hayato punched the guy square on the nose and kicked him in the gut, he was out cold. "Anyone else?"

"S-sorry Gokudera-sama." The other said as he picked up the guy Haru took out. "It won't happen again."

"We'll stay away from her. Promise." The next one said hurriedly, as he caught the one Hayato just beat up.

"Yeah! You better run!" Lambo said mockingly to them.

"You okay?" Hayato asked.

"Yeah… you saved my life again..." Haru said, giving off a sigh of relief. "But if you do keep crossing the street like that I'm not going to be surprised if you're the one who gets hit by a car next time."

_Well, if I get amnesia, at least I can forget all those memories. _He thought. "Well sorry if I thought those guys were giving you trouble."

"It's not that I'm not grateful or anything… " She said, as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "I don't know if I could've taken them all..."

"I didn't know you could even take one." He said. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Television." She answered vaguely. "Are you all-right, Lambo-kun?" she picked him up and snuggled him.

"Yup! They got scared of Lambo-sama's awesomeness!" he said happily.

"It's not like he actually did anything." Gokudera muttered under his breath.

"You were very brave, Lambo-kun." Haru said, handing him a lollipop. "You didn't even run away."

"Of course! I have to keep Haru safe!" he said, opening the wrapper.

_While I was busy talking… _Gokudera thought. _At least she's safe, and I can still show my face to Juudaime._

"Now we can finally go inside." Haru said as she began to enter the nearby store.

"There?" Hayato said, worriedly looking up at the shop sign. _Not in there, not in there, not in there… _"Can we go ANYWHERE but there?"

"What, you can beat up two guys by yourself, but get scared over some musical instruments?" Haru said teasingly.

"Tch. Fine." He said, unwillingly entering the store as well. _This day just keeps getting better and better… _He thought sarcastically.

"Haru-chan!" The old shopkeeper said. "It's been a while!"

"I miss our piano lessons, Ojiisan." Haru said, running her fingers over the nearest piano's keys.

"I only taught you one simple piece though." He said.

"I needed to learn a piece for school back then." She recalled a memory she didn't lose.

"Who's this young man?" The shopkeeper asked. "Are you interested in classical music?"

"One of my friends… though I don't think he's into classical music very much." Haru answered with a chuckle.

_Heh. _Hayato smirked on the inside.

"Looks can be deceiving, Haru-chan." The man said.

_What does he mean by that? _Gokudera thought, kind of wondering who the old man really was.

"Lambo can play too!" Lambo said, jumping from Haru's arms and playing the piano by walking on top of the keys, creating a load of loud noise.

"Stop it before you break something, Stupid Cow!" Gokudera said, grabbing Lambo by the afro.

The old man laughed. "Well, at least he's got the enthusiasm."

"I haven't played in a while." Haru said, sitting down on the stool and playing the solo-version of the very popular Chopsticks.

_This was one of the very first ones I learned to play… _Gokudera thought as he silently watched, trying to stay focused and keep back the memories that were threatening to resurface.

"Haru's very good!" Lambo said as he listened. "I'm sure Stupidera can't even play better than Lambo-san!"

"Would you like to try, young man?" The old man said, getting another stool.

"Not really." He said, trying to avoid the situation. "I haven't played since I was little."

"Come on, Gokudera-san." Haru said. "Just try."

"Ugh… fine. You won't shut up about it anyway." He resigned. _It's been… seven years?_

"You can read notes, right?" Haru asked.

"Yeah…" he said awkwardly._ I can't play properly… that would just make her suspect that I'm hiding something… ah! Now… all I've got to do is pretend that I've just eaten something Bianchi cooked…_

_I can feel my stomach protesting just thinking about it._

He began chaotically banging on the piano keys like a lunatic, just like he did whenever Bianchi force-fed him some of her latest diabolical culinary creations. Well, she didn't know all she cooked was poison at the time… so…

He finished with one final ear-splitting note, causing every musical instrument to vibrate, and Lambo hold on to Haru for support. "STOP IT STUPIDERA! You're making Lambo-san's ears hurt!"

"You shut up, you Stupid Cow!" he shouted back.

"Stop it, you two." Haru was giggling. "Yeah. You are terrible."

"I tried to tell you." Gokudera said, relieved that no-one saw through his farce.

"That was very unique." The old man said after hearing him play.

_More like 'that was a huge piece of shit'. _Hayato thought.

"No, no. I can see you play something the masters did." The old man said.

"Are you sure you don't have a hearing problem, old man?" he asked mockingly. _Don't tell me he just saw through that._

"I know a genius when I see one." The shopkeeper smiled knowingly.

"Can we get out of here now?" Hayato said, before things got uncomfortable.

"Okay, okay." Haru said, seemingly oblivious to the previous conversation. "Thanks, Ojiisan! Sorry for all the trouble."

"It was no problem." He replied. "Come again anytime."

Hayato was just about to close the door behind him when the old man's next words made him stop in his tracks.

"I know you're a very talented young man… you remind me of this beautiful young girl that used to play here all the time… you look so much like her… Gokudera-kun."

His eyes widened with shock slightly when he heard the old man say his mother's surname. Could the old man be talking about his mother? Could he have known her? Who exactly was this shopkeeper? These were just some of the questions running through Hayato's brain… he felt his grip on the doorknob tighten… he was just about to get back in there and ask the old man, when…

"COME ON STUPIDERA!" Lambo called loudly. "It's time for dinner! Mama's waiting!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." He said. Forcing the questions out of his mind and finally closing the door behind him. Hearing the bell on the door sound as it closed brought him completely back to earth.

He eyed the shop curiously as they walked past it.

"Anything wrong, Gokudera-san?" Haru asked when she noticed that he wasn't talking.

"It's nothing." He said. He let out a sigh of relief when they finally arrived at Tsuna's house.

"Takoyaki!" Lambo exclaimed as he jumped from Haru's arms and started for the dining room.

"Sorry to intrude!" he said with the usual energy as his boss let him in.

"Thanks for inviting me, Tsuna-san." Haru said as she took off her shoes and entered the house.

"It wasn't any trouble, Haru." He replied. "Was everything okay? I hope Lambo behaved well…"

"He was great!" Haru said cheerfully as they entered the dining table. "Oh, who's this?"

"I am very much remorseful that I have failed to introduce myself." Basil said politely. "My name is Basil, milady."

"He's a friend from Italy." Tsuna said.

"So that's why he speaks like that." she said, amused. "He's very polite. I'm Miura Haru."

"It is a pleasure to meet thou." he replied.

* * *

"How did things go, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked him once he was sure they were out of earshot.

"Everything went fine, Juudaime." He said. "Basil was following us this afternoon, but I told him to go tell you he was here, and then she almost got uh… attacked by four losers… but they were easy to take care of."

"I'm glad everything's okay, now that Basil is here, you don't have to-"

"I don't intend on abandoning my duty as your right-hand-man, Juudaime." He replied.

"But you can go to Italy now…" Tsuna tried to explain.

"I'm sorry… but may I ask you a question?" He said. "Did you ask Basil to come here to guard Haru just so I can go to Italy?"

"It's not like that, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said, going over what he had to say in his head. "Dad sent Basil here. But I'm sure he's very capable of guarding her…"

"I'm not questioning his abilities, or your judgment, Juudaime." Gokudera said. "But, if you will order me to go to Italy, then I will."

"I didn't say that." Tsuna defended. "It's just… we can all see you're being troubled by something. Yamamoto-kun was even willing to keep an eye on Haru for you…"

"The baseball-idiot?" Gokudera said.

"Don't get angry at him." Tsuna said, thinking that Hayato might go into his I'm-the-right-hand-man-not-Yamamoto routine. "We were all just thinking about what's best for you."

"But-"

"We can't force you to go to Italy… but I am telling you that we're all for it if you do." Tsuna explained. "You don't have to worry about us here… we're going to be perfectly fine. Just make sure you come back alright."

"I'm very sorry to have caused so much trouble…" Gokudera said. "…everyone's…"

"We'll be okay with whatever you decide to do." Tsuna said.

Hayato was almost teary-eyed.

_Thinking about your subordinates and knowing how to support them… you've improved, Tsuna. _Reborn thought as he pretended to be asleep.

* * *

Later, as Gokudera saw Haru off at her house…

"Uh… thanks for everything, Gokudera-san." She said.

"Are you going to do anything tomorrow?" he asked awkwardly. _I wonder how many excuses I have to make up just so I can keep an eye on her._

"Hahi?" She said, almost blushing. "Why?"

"Uh…" he said, racking his brain for a good idea that you wouldn't see on a romance drama. "Wait, wait… what did you just say?"

"I asked you why you were-"

"No, not that." He said, like he just struck by an idea. "Before you asked. What did you say?"

Haru's eyes widened as she realized the same thing. "Hahi?"

"YOU JUST SAID IT!" Hayato exclaimed. _I never thought I'd be happy to hear that stupid expression. _"Have your memories started to come back?"

"Uhm… well…" Haru turned a brighter shade of pink when she remembered the whole hospital incident that made its way back to her memories. "…a little."

"Great. I've got to tell Juu- I mean, Tsuna-san and the others…" he said, getting ahead of himself. Then he remembered something. "You haven't answered my first question."

"I'm going to the library tomorrow." She said. "I'll be studying for a test we have on Monday."

"Alright." He said, settling for that and turning to leave. And it wasn't just because the library was one of his favorite places, second to wherever the hell Tsuna was.

"Uh… see you tomorrow then." Haru said as she turned to go inside.

"Yeah." He replied.

* * *

::Finally! I hope I can put up the next chapter quickly. I've got it all figured out. I wonder where Bianchi and I-pin are.

::Special thanks to x-MinRi-x-san.

::Random facts: Haru has done a German Suplex (it's a pro-wrestling move) in one of the episodes (I just can't remember which one). She did it to fifteen-year-old Lambo. Oh, and last one… that old shopkeeper seemed to know about Hayato's piano playing… why?… he was Hayato's grandfather… just kidding!

::Till next chapter, thanks for reading, please review.


	10. Conspiracy

::Ahh… things are getting interesting. Again, _**bold italics **_are said in Italian.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Conspiracy."**

_Who the hell was that old man… _ Hayato thought as he entered his apartment. _… and why do I feel like he knows who I am?_

When he entered the kitchen to put on some hot water for some coffee, he was surprised to see a plate of Gyoza and some salmon sashimi on the table. The Gyoza were still slightly hot, meaning it hasn't been long since they were cooked. He saw a small note, and read it.

_We had to borrow your kitchen for a while. _

_We hope you like it, Hayato. _

_The fish is for Uri._

_P.S. It's not poisoned, promise._

_-Bianchi and I-pin._

He didn't know it, but he smiled. He opened his Vongola Box (of course, the more compact version they brought from the future), and Uri thankfully didn't proceed to scratch his face off, but started eating the Sashimi on the table. Hayato however, held the plate of Gyoza and looked at it carefully. He smelled to check if it was anything like her usual cooking… but to his surprise, it actually smelled delicious. He took a pair of chopsticks and pried one open…

_Looks normal enough. I guess I-pin was the one who cooked it._

"How is it, Uri?" He stroked his storm-flame cat's fur. It purred with delight.

"I guess I have to go thank her now." He said to himself as he ate some of the Gyoza. "Wait a minute… how did they get in here anyway?"

* * *

Earlier that afternoon, near one of Namimori's supermarkets…

"_**A-are you alright, Master Bianchi?" **_a flustered Giovanni said after beating up a man that tried to pickpocket his former master. _**"It's been so long!" **_

"_**You finally decided to show yourself, Giovanni." **_She said.

I-pin looked at them curiously, wondering what they were saying…

"Ah, go have some fun, I-pin." Bianchi said. "I have to talk to an old friend for a while."

"Okay." I-pin said, and she went into her favorite Chinese herb store.

"_**Hayato told me everything." **_Bianchi said as she took a seat on a nearby bench. _**"I want you to be honest with me." **_

"_**I would never lie to you, Master Bianchi." **_He said, taking a seat beside her.

"_**What did I tell you about calling me that?" **_she said. _**"Now, tell me, what are you and Giuseppe doing here?" **_

"_**I'm sorry." **_He said, obviously having a hard time explaining. _**"But-" **_

"_**Is it true that you were ordered to attack the Vongola?" **_she asked firmly.

"_**A-attack the Vongola?" **_Giovanni said in disbelief. _**"Why would we attack Italia's most powerful Mafia Famiglia? Our family is only one of their many allies."**_

"_**Don't tell me you people have nothing to do with it." **_Bianchi said.

"_**Things have been well… hectic in Italy." **_He tried to explain. _**"The boss is sick, and his upper subordinates are having a power struggle before he even dies!" **_He said, outraged.

"_**So… you're here to make sure that Hayato and I are safe?" **_Bianchi said, coming to her own conclusions. _**"Since we are Father's only children, if we die, then the seat for Boss is wide open?"**_

"_**That is part of the reason. We have been taking turns watching over you two." **_Giovanni said, sighing. _**"Unfortunately, there are only a number of men who have not been swayed into thinking that either of you are capable of becoming Boss. Most of them are in Italia, trying their best to make sure the Boss makes a full recovery, and keeping him safe from would-be assassins."**_

"_**Wait… then you mean… that accident with Haru…" **_

"_**The thief was an assassin sent to kill Master Hayato." **_He said. _**"He made it seem like he was just trying to steal one of those girl's bags, knowing that Master would take action. But they underestimated him. He was able to restrain the assassin, and his comrades who were in that car provided a distraction that allowed them to escape. Once we, who were loyal to your father, found out, Giuseppe and I decided to go to Japan to protect the both of you."**_

"_**It's their fault they always viewed Hayato as nothing more than oriental half-breed pianist." **_Bianchi smirked. _**"I can't believe the problem is even getting innocent people involved."**_

"_**Ever since that incident, because one of the Vongola Decimo's friends was involved, the Vongola have helped us restore order. Some of the Ninth's men are helping us protect the Boss. Even some of their CEDEF agents have arrived in Japan…" **_Giovanni said. _**"…Giuseppe told me one of them was tailing master Hayato earlier today." **_

"_**So that's why things have been quiet so far." **_Bianchi said. _**"So you not knowing that Hayato was the Vongola Decimo's Storm Guardian was a lie?"**_

"_**Pretty much." **_He replied with a sigh. _**"I said I couldn't lie to you… but Master Hayato is complicated, and I didn't want to involve him at the time, so… he still doesn't know anything except that the boss is sick… but I was so happy when I found out you were going back to Italy." **_Giovanni said. _**"I even got the private jet and your rooms in the mansion all ready. I'm sure the Boss will start to feel better once he sees the two of you again." **_

"_**There's just one problem… Hayato might not be going to Italy with me." **_Bianchi said.

"_**We have tried everything we can to convince him… we have even talked to the Vongola Decimo about it. He told us he would try to help us out as much as he could, but he also said that it was better if Master Hayato did not know anything about the assassin that tried to kill him. And Giuseppe even has a plan that involves a kind old man and a piano shop, but I don't know how that will help." **_He said.

"_**Well, if he decides he's not going to Italy, we could just sedate him and load him in the plane. Things have become too serious to let him just have his way." **_Bianchi said. _**"Give him until tomorrow to decide." **_

"_**That's exactly what Giuseppe said." **_Giovanni sweat dropped. _**"On a different topic, I have meant to ask this question in a while… how are Master Hayato and that cheerful young lady related?"**_

"_**I don't really know." **_Bianchi said, smiling. _**"They do seem to be spending a lot more time together… but I think it's because he's taken it upon himself to make sure she doesn't get hurt. He did blame himself a lot when she got hit by that car."**_

"_**The Boss will be so glad when he hears how much Young Master has grown!" **_Giovanni exclaimed, tears of joy almost welling up in his eyes. _**"Maybe he'll think about arranging wedding plans when he finds out."**_

"_**What?" **_Bianchi said. _**"I never said they were-!" **_

"_**Why else would he be so concerned for the young lady?" **_he said.

"_**You'll do nothing of the sort." **_Bianchi said, almost laughing. _**"I'm sure Hayato will have your head if he finds out."**_

"_**Alright." **_Giovanni said. _**"I can't say no to you."**_

"_**Love does conquer all, in the end." **_Bianchi said, standing up. _**"It was nice seeing you again, Giovanni." **_

"_**The pleasure's all mine."**_

_**

* * *

**_Back in Hayato's apartment…

After eating and washing up the dishes, Gokudera began to search around his drawers and cabinets. "Where did I put that thing?"

He finally found what he was looking for in the drawer of his bedside table. It was a bag full of paper… old letters between his father and mother that the Bianchi of ten-years-later gave him before they returned to their own time.

He sat down on his bed and began rummaging through the letters, looking for an old photograph.

"She does kind of look like me." He smiled at the photograph of a beautiful young lady with pale skin, and long flowing silver locks wearing a light blue ball gown, who carried a sleeping baby in her arms. "I didn't even remember what she looked like…" _Well, it wasn't like I really tried._

He fell asleep with the photograph still in his hands, and the letters all scattered around the floor of his bedroom, where Uri found the perfect place to sleep.

* * *

The next day, at the library…

"Uh, you start without me… I'll go… look for a book on this." Gokudera said. _I'll start by patrolling the perimeters._

"Alright." Haru said, as she tried to ignore how different he looked with his hair like that and his glasses, she pretended to be poring over her 598-page copy of Chemistry: The Central Science. "Don't worry, I can handle this."

Ten minutes later…

_What's taking him so long? _Haru thought as she tried to balance a chemical equation involving Potassium Nitrate and Glucose. She looked around and didn't see him anywhere, but a book on the table caught her eye. "Hahi?" she said, out of habit. _Gokudera-san brought this with him._ "Il Principe, Niccolo Machiavelli." _It's in Italian… good thing I took it for my freshman language classes._ She skimmed through some pages. _I didn't know he was into politics. Maybe it's for school. _"H-hahi?"

An old letter fell into her lap.

_What's this? _

_

* * *

_At Tsuna's house…

"I can't believe it was Gokudera-kun who was in danger all this time." Tsuna told Reborn.

"Things like this are common in the mafia, you have to get used to it if you're going to be a good Boss, Tsuna." The arcobaleno said, he then took a sip of his coffee. "You can get experience in dealing with allied families because of this."

_I never even said I wanted to be a Mafia Boss. _Tsuna sighed. "But isn't this a little too much? I'm just a Japanese middle schooler. I should be studying, not helping armed people in Italian suits."

"You can't complain about it now." Reborn said, hitting Tsuna on the head with a stick-shaped Leon. "You weren't just picked out from a bunch of kids, Tsuna. You've been a candidate to be the Decimo since you were born."

"Well, I hope Gokudera-kun doesn't start blaming himself when he finds out that some of his own family were responsible for what happened to Haru." Tsuna said. "It was so hard getting him over it the first time."

"Don't worry about him. He can handle himself." Reborn said. "Are you going to tell everyone except Gokudera and Haru about this?"

"I already did." Tsuna sighed. "Nii-san (Ryohei) said that we should try to convince Gokudera-kun to go to Italy. But Yamamoto said we should just let him do what he wants, since it was personal. But they also said that they were still going to stay alert in case anything else happens. Even Hibari-san said he was going to 'bite-to-death' anyone who tries to cause trouble here in Namimori. I haven't been able to see Chrome yet, but maybe tomorrow or later I'll tell them about what's been going on."

"Your subordinates are very reliable, Tsuna." Reborn smiled. "I hope we don't have to force Gokudera on that plane to Italia."

"I hope he doesn't find out that we know everything." The future Decimo sighed. "I told his father's subordinate not to tell him that part, he'll get upset for sure."

"Do what you have to, Tsuna."

* * *

Haru was wiping away her tears when she heard footsteps going toward her. She had already put back the letter in its envelope and tucked it back in the book by the time Gokudera placed the stack of books he got on the table.

"What's wrong with you?" he said, seeing her reddish eyes. "Did you cry or something?"

"N-no." She said, trying to act the part. "Some dust got in my eye."

"Uh… okay." He said, taking his seat. He noticed that the book he brought with him was moved, but decided to ignore it. _Haru probably can't understand Italian anyway. _"Need help?"

"I just can't get this right." She said, handing him the paper she was working on before the letter distracted her. "What's the chemical structure of nitroglycerin?"

She couldn't have asked an easier question.

* * *

Later that afternoon…

"Juudaime…" Gokudera began, a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked. "Is Haru okay?"

"Yes, she's fine." He answered.

"What's the problem then?" he said.

"I might not be able to keep an eye on her for long." He said.

"It's no problem." Tsuna explained. "Basil-kun told me he was assigned to stay in Japan until the matter gets resolved. Besides, Yamamoto-kun has free time."

"I've thought about it for a long time, and I've decided… but I'm deeply sorry for all the trouble, Juudaime." He said.

"No, you don't have to apologize." Tsuna said, stopping him from getting on the floor to bow. "Bianchi's upstairs."

He went upstairs and knocked on his sister's room…

"What is it, Hayato?" she said as she opened the door.

He kept his head down so he wouldn't see her face, she kept the syringe she was ready to sedate him with hidden in her sleeve.

"I'm going to Italy."

She dropped it on the floor as she hugged him. He dropped down to the floor when she let go.

* * *

::Looks like we're going to Italia next chapter. I'm excited. I hope things weren't too confusing.

::Thanks for reading, please review.


	11. Departure

::The big one-one! I hope I can still update this fast when the school year kicks in. You probably know what _**bold italics **_are, but they're said in Italian, just for those who are still wondering. Oh, and written stuff will be in _italics, _like thoughts, unless they were read out loud.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Departure."**

It was just a piece of paper, tear-streaked, tarnished and yellowing with age… but the words the ink spelled out on it meant so much…

_I've received all eighty-five of your wonderful letters, but I am afraid that this might be the only reply I can muster up the time and strength to make..._

_It was right after I played the piano at a small restaurant in Italy when I first saw you. You can imagine the surprise I had when I saw a young man in a suit holding a bouquet of flowers right in front of me. I also wondered where everyone went. You were the only one there… and that would be how my world would be for the next months. Those months had some of the best moments of my life. I don't regret anything, from giving up my career as a pianist, to bringing our son into this world. _

_That is why I hope you understand why I chose not to marry you._

_If love was the only measure, then would have gladly accepted. But it is also out of love that I must decline. Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with a long life. This disease will continue to eat away at me, and I cannot hope to be a good wife in that state, much less a good mother. I am afraid I cannot accept to see either you or our son crying at my deathbed, for I am sure that death will take me while our son is at too young an age to lose his mother. I know that you will love and raise him wonderfully. _

_I hope that the lucky woman you will take as your wife will treat him as her own, or at least treat him kindly. Though I may not live long enough to see it, I am sure he will grow up to be a great young man. His eyes are so alike to yours, and that is why I cannot bear to see tears from them. _

_Tell him that his mother loves him very much. _

_If I could be so bold, I would ask of you only three things:_

_First, that you name him Hayato, a name from my father's native tongue. _

_Second, that he learn to play the piano… so that he can play beautifully for you as I once did._

_And third, that he does not find out the truth, so that he may be protected from its pain. _

_I will always love the both of you, and know that wherever I am, you will always be in my thoughts._

Haru tossed and turned in her bed, the contents of the letter that were not for her eyes still lingered on her mind. _And I thought I had it tough… I just hope… I did the right thing._

_

* * *

_Earlier…

"What's with you all of a sudden?" Gokudera said as they were on the train home from the library.

"Hahi? Why?" Haru said, feigning her surprise.

"Don't 'Hahi!' me." He said, eyeing her suspiciously. "You're never this quiet."

"What do you mean Haru's never this quiet?" she said, sounding annoyed.

"I'm starting to think that 'Hahi' and speaking in third person is kind of a coping mechanism for you." He muttered.

"No it is not!" she replied in the usual Haru fashion.

_Then why is it that when you just lost your memories, you never talked that way… I think you talk like that when you're trying to hide something… _He mused. _…like how worried you really were for everyone when we went to the future… _ "It can't be helped. You really can't stay quiet."

"You were the one who started talking!" she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"That's really childish, you know." He commented.

"I'm not the one being childish here." She muttered under her breath.

"Then who is? Me?" he said in disbelief.

"Of course!" she said. "How could you blame someone for something they didn't even do?"

The few people that were on the train were now staring at them. And they, being Gokudera Hayato, and Miura Haru, were either totally oblivious that some people weren't happy at all at their shouting match, or they just didn't care. Well, some of the passengers sighed at how young people acted these days.

"What?" he said. _Don't tell me she read the letter… she can't have read the letter… she doesn't know Italian._

She gasped, realizing how she let herself slip, she tried to think quickly of a good excuse. "I meant you! You're just following me around because you still blame yourself for that stupid car hitting me, don't you?"

"What the… no I'm not!" he said, horrified. _WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Stupid women with their stupid issues._

"Then why do you keep going… with me?" she fumbled at her own words. "I never asked you to."

"Because…" he thought of an answer that did not involve 'Juudaime told me to keep you safe.' Or 'there are dangerous people from the mafia that are after you.' "…because…well…"

"Just tell her you love her already." A random middle-aged man in a business suit told him.

"Yeah, man. Go with the truth… the truth always works!" a younger passenger added.

_WHAT THE FUCK? _Was all that was going through Hayato's head at the time.

Another one chimed in "If you don't tell her, then I will!"

Haru was just… uncharacteristically speechless. _That wasn't exactly what I was going for… but at least he didn't find out I read that letter._

"COULD YOU PEOPLE MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS?" Gokudera finally burst out.

Everyone dispersed, newspapers returned to their opened and upright positions, media players were turned on, text message replies were sent, other conversations continued, and everyone who was doing something else went back to doing whatever the hell they were doing, each saying their own version of 'fine, whatever', 'tch, young people these days' or 'it's your loss.'

But for the two, the train ride turned into twenty-seven minutes of awkward, deafening silence, while both their brains were on overdrive just thinking 'WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?'.

* * *

Currently, at Tsuna's house…

Gokudera was slowly recovering from his most recent bout of stomach pain when he felt a black paper bag thrown at him.

"W-what's this?" he said weakly.

"You'll need something to wear if you're going back to Italy." Bianchi said, now wearing her orange-tinted goggles.

"Italian." He said, after sitting up and examining the bags contents. There was a black suit, coat, and tie, and a maroon long-sleeve.

"When in Rome…" Bianchi smiled. "…by the way, your shoes are over there in that box."

"Uh… thanks, I guess." He mumbled back.

* * *

Back to Haru's flashback…

"Uh… Gokudera-san…" Haru muttered before he dropped her off at her house.

"What now?" he said. "Did someone try to bother you again? Is that why you're being weirder than usual?"

"Haru isn't weird!" she said. "I was going to apologize for what happened at the train… but Haru won't anymore."

"Then why bother telling me?" _Here we go again… I still think she's being like this because of that letter… But I can't just ask her straight if she can read Italian… I think I've got an idea… __**"Stupid woman."**_

"HARU IS NOT STUPID!" she said out loud, and gasped right afterwards. "H-hahi?"

"So you do understand Italian…" he said. "…you read this, didn't you?" holding the old letter out.

"No, no! Haru can only understand a few words… Haru can't read Italian…" she lied.

"Come on, Miura." He said, almost getting angry. "We both know you're not that stupid."

"So you admit it then?" she said. _**"Haru isn't stupid." **_She said in Italian.

"Don't try to change the subject."

"I wasn't." she replied. "Because I'm not stupid… I want you know that… that Bianchi-san is right. And I may not be part of your family… and I should mind my own business…" she was faltering. "…but I'm telling you as a friend, you have to visit your father. He deserves your forgiveness… and… and…" she couldn't stop her tears from flowing at this point. "…your mother would have wanted you to."

"And you're right, you should mind your own business." He said gruffly. "We don't know what she wants. She's gone."

Haru slapped him on the face. "You're the one who's stupid! You're horrible, insensitive, and STUPID!" She muttered, her bangs hiding her tear-stained eyes. "DID YOU EVEN READ THAT LETTER?"

"Of course I did." He muttered. "And you shouldn't have."

"THEN WHY?" she said. "How can you still think your father could do that?"

"…I don't…" he said. "But-"

"Then go to Italy." She said, facing him. "If it's because you have to protect me that you can't leave, well, you don't have to keep an eye on me anymore."

"Where did you get that idea? You're not that lucky." Gokudera smirked. The strange thing was… he wasn't sure if he was lying or not. "I am going to Italy." He said. "But don't think that I'm going to because of you."

"That's okay with me." She said, taking in a deep breath and rubbing her eyes. "Well… uh… it's getting late… and you've got an early flight tomorrow… so… bye, then."

"Yeah… oh, and you're wrong." He said, before turning to leave. _**"You are part of the family, Stupid Woman."**_

"_**I AM NOT STUPID!" **_she shouted back as she slammed the door. She didn't know why she was laughing after she closed it, though.

_I guess everything's back to normal. _He thought to himself as he made his way to his boss's house to tell him his decision.

* * *

The next day, at Tsuna's house…

"_**How did you get all my stuff from my apartment?"**_ Hayato asked as he put on a Kevlar bulletproof vest before the maroon long-sleeve his sister gave him the night before. _**"Do I really have to wear this?"**_

"_**Oh… your landlady is actually a minor member of the Vongola."**_ Giovanni answered as if it was nothing important. _**"And yes, you do have to wear that. We can't take any chances. Young Master." **_

"_**I told you to stop calling me that." **_He replied, now fixing his tie. _Now I know how Bianchi gets into my apartment so easily._

After closing up the last of Hayato's luggage, Giovanni proceeded to reload his 45-caliber pistol.

"_**People in Japan aren't usually allowed to carry guns you know." **_Gokudera commented.

"_**You aren't seriously telling me that, are you?" **_He replied. _**"We won't be taking a commercial flight anyway…" **__Though a couple of decoys will be taking your seats._

"_**So how the hell are we going to get there?" **_he scoffed. _**"I won't go on a ship. It would take too long."**_

"_**You didn't think your father would let you go home without the private jet, did you?" **_Giovanni said teasingly. _**"And we don't intend to separate you from your cheerful young lady for too long… Master Hayato." **_

"_**What the-!" **_he said, clearly getting the point. _**"And I told you not to call me that."**_

"_**That doesn't mean I'll stop it." **_He chuckled. _**"You were the one who said I didn't work for you anymore. So I don't have to follow your orders… YOUNG MASTER."**_

"_**Tch. Forget it." **_He gave up and carried his suitcase downstairs.

"Good morning, Juudaime!" He said cheerfully. "I'm very sorry for the trouble."

"It's no problem, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said, fumbling with his tie.

"Yo! Gokudera!" Yamamoto greeted from the dining room.

"Baseball-nut." He muttered in reply. Then he noticed something. "HOW CAN YOU STILL NOT KNOW HOW TO TIE A TIE?"

"I don't usually wear them." He replied, smiling and rubbing the back of his head like his answer made sense.

"Real men know how to tie ties." Reborn said as he entered the room.

_Does Reborn mean me? _Tsuna thought as he saw the mess of cloth hanging on his neck.

"See. Even Reborn-san knows." Gokudera said, matter-of-factly.

"TO THE EXTREME!" A thundering Ryohei barged in. Oh, and he wasn't wearing a tie.

"Calm down, Nii-san." A Kyoko in semi-formals said as she entered.

"Do you need help with your tie, Tsu-kun?" Nana said after placing the food on the dining table.

"Uh…" Tsuna sweat-dropped.

"Let me fix it up for you." She said. "Your dad used to do his like this all the time."

_Juudaime knows how to tie a tie… he just has a unique way of doing it… not like that clueless baseball-idiot or that turf-top. _Hayato thought. "Wait, what is everyone doing here?"

"We're going to see you off at the airport, of course." Yamamoto said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"It's only natural for members of the Vongola Family. Tsuna should get used to dealing with other families as well." Reborn stated once Nana was out of the room. "Basil is already at the airport and he'll be patrolling around the perimeters, so we probably won't be able to see him."

"They're talking about our next Sumo match to the extreme, Kyoko." Ryohei whispered to his sister.

"I already know you're in the Mafia, Nii-san." She sighed.

"Why do we have to wear suits anyway?" Tsuna sighed, looking at his now perfect tie.

"Do you want the Vongola Family to look bad in front of Gokudera's Father's Men?" Reborn said sarcastically. "You're already being viewed as kids and brats by most of the mafia, so you need to keep up your appearances."

"But won't Haru get suspicious or something?" Tsuna argued.

"She wears costumes all the time. Dressing up should be natural for her." Reborn said. "It's customary in the mafia to wear formal clothes when interacting with other families."

"Alright, alright." Tsuna sighed. _It's not like Reborn listens anyway… _

"They've got food! ~byon!" Ken said as he entered and helped himself.

"Is that the only reason why you came here, Ken?" Chikusa said in his usual monotone as he entered the room with Chrome.

"Why else?" he said between mouthfuls.

"Hibari-san is outside." Chrome mumbled.

"He said something about it being too crowded." Chikusa added.

_I guess it's to be expected. Well, at least he came. _Tsuna thought.

"Lambo-sama is here!" Lambo, who was wearing an extra-extra-extra-extra-extra small suit, announced as he tried to grab as much food from Ken as possible. "What is this animal?"

"That's my steak ~byon!" Ken said after Lambo just took it from his plate. Chikusa sighed in the background. "Hey stupid Chrome! Eat up before this cow eats everything!"

"Don't fight, Lambo." I-pin said. She was wearing a Chinese dress.

_If Lambo is a cow… wouldn't it be cannibalism if he ate steak? _Pushing random thoughts out of his cluttered mind, Tsuna gives a relieved sigh. "I can't believe everyone's here." Tsuna said. _And nothing has gone wrong! _

"HAHI? PLEASE STOP!" a flustered Haru was screaming outside.

_Spoke too soon. _Tsuna thought.

"Get away from her!" Gokudera ran outside dynamites at the ready.

Everyone was so surprised, they stared at the doorway for five whole seconds before they followed behind him. They were all thinking along the lines of… 'since when have they been-'

Kyoya was as silent as ever in the background, inwardly sighing at all these stupid, pitiful noisy brats, but still had his ominous theme music, catchphrase, and tonfas at the ready just in case any of them dare disturb the peace of his beloved Namimori.

"I didn't do anything… yet." The man winked at her.

"Pervert!" Haru pointed a finger at him.

"I was only talking to her, promise!" he said defensively.

"Shamal? What the hell?" Hayato said, when he realized it was his former mentor. The sticks of dynamite died out.

"I didn't know you liked her type, Hayato." He said. "Well, she is cute."

"Hahi?" Haru said, noticing what Hayato was holding. "What are those?"

_Shit. _"Oh these… they're… giant cigarettes!" he said stupidly, praying to every supernatural entity he knew that she would be stupid too, just this one time.

"U-uh… YEAH!" Tsuna added hastily. "Gokudera-kun has a really bad smoking problem, you see…"

"He smokes to the extreme!" Ryohei said, trying to help, and… failing.

Kyoko didn't know if she should be worried or laughing. Hayato face-palmed.

"That's why we told him to quit it." Takeshi said, quickly disposing of the dynamite and hiding them from view.

"I agree, Gokudera-san." Haru said, giggling. "You should stop smoking."

_But I haven't smoked… in… forever? _He thought.

"You were smoking again, Hayato?" Bianchi went outside wearing a sleek black Italian dress and her hair tied up. Gokudera was thankful she was also wearing her sunglasses. "Didn't you stop smoking already?"

"Hahi! You're beautiful, Bianchi-san!" Haru exclaimed.

"Thanks. We haven't been home in a while, after all." She replied, smiling.

"Bianchi! You're even more beautiful than I remember!" Shamal then proceeded to try to flirt with her. He got a punch in the face as a reply.

They then took a black stretch-limousine to the airport.

* * *

"You're taking a private jet?" Haru said in amazement when she saw it. "Haru is so jealous."

"You can come with us next time, miss." Shamal said.

"I'd rather not." She replied.

"You're coming with us?" Hayato said.

"The higher-ups told me it was only natural." He replied, sighing. "It's so troublesome. Japanese girls are so much cuter… ah, well… at least Bianchi will be there…"

Giovanni's grip on Hayato's suitcase tightened so much, he broke the handle off. Luckily, no-one noticed. Then, a man in an expensive looking suit came down from the plane and whispered to Tsuna. "The boss is very thankful for all your help, Vongola Decimo."

"I didn't really do anything." He replied.

"On the contrary." He said. "You've provided Master Hayato and Master Bianchi with so much. The boss would like to express his outmost gratitude… and he promises to be of assistance whenever the Vongola requires."

"Thank you." Tsuna said, and the man went to help load Bianchi's, Gokudera's and Shamal's luggage.

"You're becoming a natural at this, Tsuna." Reborn smiled.

_But I didn't do anything! _He faced the imaginary camera with his what-the-heck face on.

"I'm really sorry to leave at such a crucial time, Juudaime! I'll be back as soon as possible." Gokudera bowed.

"It's alright." Tsuna said.

"Good luck, Gokudera." Yamamoto said.

"Like I need it, baseball-nut." He replied. "Oi, and if you're going to take over my duty you better do it properly."

"She'll be fine. Don't worry." Yamamoto smiled like he knew something.

"Go for it to the EXTREME octopus-head!" Ryohei said, with a matching fist up in the air.

"Yeah, turf-top." He stepped on to the ladder.

"Take care, Bianchi-san." Kyoko said as she hugged her goodbye.

"We'll see each other again soon." She replied.

"Take care of yourself, and don't skip meals, okay Chrome?" Bianchi said.

Chrome blushed and mumbled an agreement.

"I hate to leave you, Reborn…" Bianchi said as he snuggled him for the last time that day and finally started to board the plane.

"Oi! Stupidera! Don't forget about Lambo-sama's candy!" Lambo added.

"Fine, fine, Stupid cow." He said back.

"I hope everything goes alright." Tsuna said to the siblings as they were about to get inside.

"Leave it to me, Juu- I mean Tsuna-san." He said, noticing Haru.

"Take care of yourselves." Bianchi said as she waved goodbye.

"Don't smoke, okay?" Haru said loudly.

Gokudera was laughing on the inside. _She actually fell for it? _"I won't if you don't get hit by a car again!"

Bianchi went inside and took her seat. The last thing Haru said to him was also the last thing Hayato heard before he got inside:

_**"I won't if you ****don't die!" **_

_**

* * *

**_::Dun-dun-duuun… and now it begins… will this be the end to this awkwardly opposite pairing? (Aww man, it's not like it's even begun yet.)

::I hope I got everyone in character though. This is the longest chapter ever. It should've been longer, but I decided to move the next stuff to the next chapter. I'm dreadfully sorry for my ghastly humor. I promise the next chapters won't get this random… unless you guys actually liked it.

::Anyone read the latest manga chapter? It totally stirred up a hundred theories in my head.

::Thanks for reading… please review!


	12. Absence

::Rightie, now after the crazy randomness of the previous chapter, let's slow things down a bit. You guys already know what _**bold italics**_ are, right?

::I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, or any works of musical or artistic genius that will be mentioned.

* * *

"**.Absence."**

Gokudera sighed as he looked outside, the vast blue of the Pacific Ocean clearly visible from his window… _Two weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed I was doing this._

**_"What's bothering you, Master Hayato?"_** Giovanni asked him once it was safe to stand on the plane.

**_"You mean besides you?"_** He replied. …o_r the fact that I'm on this plane?_

**_"Really, where have all your manners gone?" _**he sighed. **_"I should get you etiquette lessons when we reach the manor."_**

**_"He probably just misses that cute girl of his already."_** Shamal said as he eyed Bianchi reading a magazine on exotic food on the other side of the plane. **_"I agree with him. You should get etiquette lessons. A brat like you will never keep a lady. You should be more like a gentleman."_**

Bianchi scoffed. Giovanni probably popped a vein, but was trying his best not to show that he was shaking with anger. **_"Would you like me to get you anything, then?"_**

**_"I'm fine."_** Gokudera said dismissively. He then put on headphones, and turned up the volume so he wouldn't have to hear Shamal trying to chat up his sister and Bianchi refusing him, that, and because he was pretty sure Giovanni was going to lose his cool anytime soon.

_~Hane ga nai tenshi wa boku ni itta… ie he to kaeru chizu wo nakushita…~ _ the headphones sounded in his ears… _it's got Japanese music? And here I was thinking I had nothing but orchestra concertos to listen to for twelve hours… I wonder what else I can do on this plane… _

* * *

In Namimori…

"I didn't know you could speak Italian, Haru-chan." Kyoko said as they began to leave the airport. "What did you tell Gokudera-kun?"

Haru seemed to have gone a brighter shade of pink. "Hahi! I-it was nothing ~desu."

"We're going to be late for school if we don't hurry." Tsuna said when he saw the clock in the airport's waiting area.

A tall black-haired man who Tsuna recognized to be the one who drove them to the airport approached Tsuna and whispered to him: "Vongola Decimo, I am one of Master Hayato's Father's men. I have been assigned to assist you in any way possible."

Tsuna gave Reborn a worried look. "He's telling the truth, Tsuna."

"It's not that…" Tsuna sighed. "It's okay mister… ehh…"

"Giuseppe." The man replied.

"Giuseppe-san" Tsuna said. "You don't have to go through the trouble."

"But Decimo, I was ordered to." He said. "And I am sure Master Hayato would very much like to ensure that his family will not be inconvenienced by his absence."

"Just agree Tsuna." Reborn said. "This is one of the perks of being a boss."

"Fine." Tsuna said, sighing. _It's not like I can disagree once Reborn said it. _

"Would you like a ride to school then?" Guiseppe said.

"Uh… thank you, Guiseppe-san." Tsuna said awkwardly.

* * *

About 30,000 feet above Siberia…

Shamal was out cold with a violently purple cake shoved down his mouth. Giovanni was clearly in a much better mood, and Bianchi was sleeping on her reclined chair. Gokudera was able to find some electronic entertainment.

**_"SHIT!"_** Gokudera said as he almost threw the video game controller at the LED screen he was playing on because his characters got pawned by the same gigantic monster for the third freaking time. _This is why I don't usually play these things… there's nothing else to do… _

**_"Please stop using such foul words, Master Hayato."_** Giovanni said after trying his best not to laugh at his former master's incompetence.

**_"Fuck you, Giovanni."_** He said, and then he tried again… and failed… again.

**_"Would you like me to help you?"_** Giovanni offered.

**_"Like you can do better."_** Hayato said, but handed him the controller just the same.

Giovanni brought down the giant monster in less than three minutes, and the entire party's lives were all still in the green. He smirked as he returned the controller to his former master. **_"Glad to be of assistance."_**

**_"Tch. You were just lucky."_** Hayato said.

**_"Actually… it's just because you were thinking about what you were doing too much."_** Giovanni said. **_"Sure you can change their equipment all you want and think up a strategy… but that's not going to help you if you don't have any instincts. They say that a weapon is only as good as the one who wields it."_**

_And now he's talking like the baseball-freak. _Gokudera thought. **_"Just shut the hell up if you don't want me to kick your ass, okay?"_**

**_"I don't have to listen to such a foul-mouthed brat…"_** Giovanni said.

**_"Fine… then will you PLEASE keep quiet and leave me alone now?" _**Gokudera said mockingly.

_**"If you say so, Master Hayato."**_ He said, smiling.

* * *

_Things are so quiet now that Gokudera-kun's not around._ Tsuna said as their math teacher entered the room.

"Gokudera's late as usual, I see." the teacher said.

"Actually, he went to Italy to visit his family, sensei." Takeshi said.

Some of their female classmates sighed. One said: "I almost forgot he was Italian! He speaks Japanese so… well…" and was stuck in her own daydream for a… really long while. Another said: "And I was planning on giving him the chocolate we'll be making at Culinary Class…"

"I see, well that is a pity." The teacher sighed. "To celebrate everyone's return from a week of vacation due to most of the faculty getting food poisoned at the dance… we've got a surprise quiz! And this time… I'm sure everyone will find it difficult." He was then wrapped in a dark aura as he handed off the papers to everyone.

"But sensei, one of our classmates is absent… shouldn't we just take the test another time?" one of their classmates said.

"It won't matter, because I'm sure he will fail it anyway." The teacher said. "Take your seat."

"But-!" the student protested.

"I said take your seat… or do you want a trip to the disciplinary committee to go with it?" the teacher said sternly.

"N-no sir." He then took his seat and grumbled 'Our tests have gotten harder because Gokudera keeps getting perfect scores.'

As the teacher handed a nervous Tsuna his paper, he caught his teacher muttering something that sounded like 'that know-it-all brat thinks he's so smart… so what if he's never gotten a mistake in any of my tests… he would never have been able to answer this one perfectly.'

Tsuna almost cried when he read the first question and didn't understand a thing… and the one after that… and the next one… until…

"This one looks familiar…" he said to himself, as he finally saw a single ray of hope in the dark tunnel that was his academic career. _This was the same question that Reborn wrote on the board on Parent's Day… _"…but Reborn didn't let Gokudera-kun answer this question! And he was the only one who seemed to know the answer…" Someone turned off the lights in the dark tunnel, and Tsuna might never be able to find his way out.

* * *

Later…

"I wonder what this one does…" Takeshi said as he examined the contents of the container in his hand. He then read the paper Gokudera left him yesterday.

_Oi, baseball-idiot. Since I'm going to be on a plane to Italy tomorrow, you're going to have to do our science project by yourself. FOLLOW EVERYTHING ON THIS PAPER EXACTLY AS I WROTE IT DOWN. Make sure you help Juudaime out with his work too. I am going to blow your head off when I get back there if anything bad happens._

Takeshi can't help but laugh. _I can almost imagine him shouting it at me._

_Get 60 g of potassium nitrate… it's on the bottom shelf to the right of the preserved frogs in jars. And you need the 40 g sugar I told you to bring… _

He proceeded to getting the ingredients for the homemade smoke bomb they were supposed to make. But when he came back to his lab table… some weird gunk from the table next to them made it go all soggy and caused the ink to run.

"We're really sorry, Yamamoto-san…" the girl from the table said. "…it's just…"

"Nah, it's all right." He smiled cheerfully. "It was just sort-of a guide anyway."

He then continued on with the project, occasionally going with his gut feeling whenever he couldn't read where the green slime made the ink run.

_Make sure you - put any gunpowder or nitroglycerin in there. But I doubt you'll find any in a school science lab. _Then he remembered he took some of Gokudera's dynamite earlier when they told Haru they were giant cigarettes. "This has gunpowder in it… and it is a smoke bomb…" his instincts told him to go for it, and he did. Ten minutes later an explosion was heard… there wasn't any fire, but there was a lot of thick smoke that made it look like the whole fourth floor disappeared. Everyone ran out of the building and luckily, no-one was hurt.

"That was an amazing smoke bomb, Yamamoto-kun!" Their science teacher said ecstatically. "THIS IS WHAT SCIENCE IS ALL ABOUT! Thinking out of the box and pushing the limits!"

"It was all thanks to Gokudera's notes, sensei." Takeshi said, rubbing the back of his head. _I guess my gut feeling was mostly right this time._

"Both of you get perfect scores." The teacher said. "Everyone else… uh… everyone who has classes on the fourth floor will probably need to have it cancelled until all the smoke clears up."

_How can things be LESS normal when Gokudera-kun's not around? _Tsuna thought.

A small, slightly burnt piece of paper was slowly making its way down from the fourth-floor explosion… Yamamoto grabbed it and read the remains of Gokudera's note.

_Make sure you pick Haru up from her school after class. Keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble. Report back to Juudaime about what happens. I WILL KICK YOUR ASS IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER._

_Wow… what a bossy note._ He thought to himself. "Ah well… I guess it's going to be fun, anyway."

* * *

In Italy…

**_"We're here!"_** Giovanni said as the private jet landed on an airstrip on the Italian countryside.

They all went down and saw a red Italian sports car and a black limousine waiting for them.

**_"Which one are we taking?"_** Bianchi asked.

**_"The red one, of course." _**Giovanni said. **_"The other one's for Shamal."_** And the doctor got inside it and went on his way, not really in the mood to have another poisoned cooking cake shoved in his face…

**_"Is this your car?"_** Gokudera asked, admiring the great paintjob and everything about it. It was an ITALIAN SPORTS CAR after all.

**_"It's yours."_** Giovanni answered. **_"But since you can't drive yet, I've been assigned to drive it for you."_**

**_"It's mine?"_** he said. _Maybe coming here wasn't such a big mistake after all…_

**_"Let's get going."_** Bianchi said. She and Gokudera sat in the back seats.

**_"Why does Shamal need to ride in another car?"_** Gokudera asked out of curiosity.

**_"He's been assigned something else."_** Giovanni lied. _No, actually, it's the decoy… _

_

* * *

_**_"Welcome home." _**Giovanni said as he opened the expensive car's door to his former masters. _I hope that limousine got attacked… _**_"Everything's been prepared and your things have been brought to your rooms. I hope you find everything to your liking."_** He said with a smile that would rival any hotel receptionist.

**_"Thank you."_** Bianchi said as she stepped out of the car into the cobblestone courtyard.**_ "The fountain's even better than I remember…"_**

**_"We've had it improved."_** Giovanni said. **_"Dinner is at eight. I'll have the maids call for you when everything's ready."_**

**_"I didn't know they turned the manor into a hotel, and you became a butler." _**Gokudera said sardonically.

**_"I didn't know you turned into such a rude brat either."_** Giovanni replied.

**_"Stop it you two."_** Bianchi said as she entered through the huge front doors. **_"I'll be talking to father if you need me."_**

**_"Would you like me to show you to your room?" _**Giovanni said, imitating a butler by bowing low.

**_"Knock it off already. I still remember where my room is."_** Gokudera said. **_"Just leave me alone for a while, okay?"_**

* * *

After about ten minutes of walking aimlessly, his feet bring him to what used to be his favorite pair of oak double-doors…

Moonlight filtered in through the large windows, occasionally obscured by the dark red drapery, filling the hall with light. It's been seven year since he's set foot in this grand manor in the Italian countryside, seven years since he last breathed in the scent of the Tuscan vineyard outside, seven years since he last laid eyes on the beautiful courtyard he used to play in as a child. He felt a sense of nostalgia, a sense of belonging… and though he will never admit it, he felt at home for the first time in years.

He mentally reminded himself that his home wasn't here, in this prestigious mansion where he spent most of his childhood, but half the world away, in a simple apartment, in Namimori, where his true family was.

But the memories of fingers on ivory keys, of hours with private tutors, of grand halls and great banquets, of running around exploring the vast grounds, of picnics on the grass, of paper planes and the scent of gunpowder… all these resurfaced and were succeeding in convincing him that the feeling of belonging that was tearing him apart was real, not just an illusion left in his heart by the part of his younger self that never wanted to run away, the part that was scared, the part that actually liked the fact that Bianchi was his sister and they shared the same mother, the part that longed for his father, the part that just wanted to believe that what he overheard from the maids were just a lie, the part of him that wasn't a Gokudera.

He sighed and mentally reprimanded himself. _What the hell is happening to me… I'm Gokudera Hayato, the tenth generation storm guardian of the Vongola Famiglia, the Decimo's right-hand-man, and nothing will ever change that. _

There's no turning back, not since seven years ago, when he decided to forget he was his father's son and took up his mother's surname as his own, and even if his father was innocent, he wouldn't change his name back. He was, after all, Gokudera Hayato, the Gokudera everyone he left in Japan knows and remembers.

But all his doubts quickly went to the far corners of his mind when he saw it… there in the middle of the hall, was the grand piano from his memories. It was pristine, not a speck of dust in sight, well-maintained… but, like the very room that he was in, it had a sense of neglect, like no-one has used it in years.

He opened the cover and sat on the chair… pressed some of the keys to a tune he remembered, and listened to the sounds that reverberated throughout the hall. _Heh, the high 'so' is still off._

He then wondered, _if ten years in the future Bianchi would be shipping this same piano to the Vongola HQ in Japan… does that mean that… in that future… I never went to Italy? Hmph. Well, they did say we changed the future when Juudaime defeated Byakuran… so maybe we're already headed to a different tomorrow. I guess I should've asked them what I've been doing in those ten years. _

He sighed. _Heck, all I know is that Juudaime becomes one of the Vongola's greatest bosses… but I knew that already. Ah well, maybe it is better not knowing what will happen. _

He was already on the third movement of Beethoven's piano sonata number seventeen when he heard a familiar voice he wasn't planning on hearing just yet.

**_"The tempest."_** His father's voice said behind him. **_"A melody befitting the Vongola's Storm Guardian, I suppose."_**

He looked at the old man he hasn't seen since he was eight years old. He looked older, frailer, and… he was in a wheelchair with an IV drip attached to it. _I've never seen him like this. _He saw that same smile he always hoped he would give him after a piano recital as a child.

**_"I'm sorry you had to see me this way, Hayato. I guess I'm not as young as I used to be."_** His father gave an awkward chuckle. **_"__Your sister has told me that you've accomplished quite a lot these past few years… a lot more than I could ever ask of you as a father. You've grown up so much…"_**

Hayato was still speechless… or rather, he had no idea what to say. Good thing Giovanni arrived three seconds later to call them to dinner.

* * *

Later…

_That was the one time I would ever thank Giovanni. _Hayato thought as he lay on the bed he hasn't slept on in seven years. He then heard the noise of a lock opening… and the sound of quiet footsteps. _Maybe it's just a maid sent to do some cleaning or something… _

He heard something like a trigger of a gun being pulled… and felt a sharp, burning pain on his side the next second. He's just been shot.

The sound of screaming, breaking glass, explosions, and more gunfire was heard.

* * *

::I guess I was kidding when I said we'd take things slowly. What the hell just happened? Tune in next time to find out.

::Tin, ang familiar ba ng ginawa ni Yamamoto? Hehe.

::Oh yeah, the Japanese lyrics that Gokudera was listening to came from Drawing Days by Splay, which you guys probably know as KHR's first opening song. And Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 is also called 'The Tempest Sonata' and it sure sounds hard to play.

::Thanks for reading, please review.


	13. Assault

::And here's what happened… prepare for some VERY VERY minor OCs. Two don't even get names or survive till the end of this chapter.

::I don't own KHR. Or any website, work of art, or any other copyrighted thing in here.

* * *

"**.Assault."**

"Hahi?" _What's with all the people down there? _"Is a celebrity giving autographs or something?" Haru said when she saw the crowd outside her school gate from the window.

"I heard it's a guy from Namimori Middle." Her classmate, Akiko said as she helped clean the classroom. "Why do they keep going here recently?"

"Maybe they've run out of cute girls there." another one of Haru's classmates, Natsuki added jokingly. "Is it true you're seeing that Gokudera guy, Haru?"

"What do you mean?" Haru said.

"Well… you know what I mean!" she said. "I never thought you were the type to fall for the bad boy."

"Yeah. Whatever happened to that Tsuna guy you were always talking about?" Akiko asked. "You always seemed like the 'damsel' type."

"What now?" Haru was almost laughing. _What about Tsuna-san?_

"You know… the whole 'knight-in-shining-armor' kind of girl. You were the one who said he saved you from drowning." She added.

"Ah!" Natsuki suddenly got an idea. "I know! That Gokudera guy was the one who saved you in that car accident wasn't he?"

"So you still are the 'damsel' type after all." Akiko concluded.

"You guys watch too many TV dramas." Haru said with a chuckle. "Everything's done here. I have to go and help mom prepare dinner. See you tomorrow then."

"Alright." Akiko said. "See you."

"Yeah." Natsuki said as Haru left the room.

Haru heard a whispered "She didn't even answer our question." And "It's probably because she doesn't even know yet." before the door to her classroom was fully closed.

The weird thing was… Haru thought they were right.

Her current status? Well, let's just say 'It's Complicated' was the only way to describe it.

* * *

"You really are amazing, Yamamoto-kun!" a random girl from Midori Middle School said while he was waiting for Haru.

"We'll cheer for you at next week's game!" her friend said as she waved goodbye.

Yamamoto just gave his usual amused chuckle.

"Hahi? Yamamoto-san?" Haru said when she saw him. "Did Gokudera-san ask you to be here?"

"Uh… sort of." He replied. He sees her blush and wonders… _How long are we supposed to pretend not to notice?_

The other girls muttered something like "another guy from Namimori Middle came here for Haru…" and one of them even went as far as saying "first Gokudera-kun… now Yamamoto-kun?"

"So… uh…" she said awkwardly. "Why does he keep following me around anyway? And you know, you don't have to do it just because he's telling you to."

"I don't know." Yamamoto said cheerfully. "Maybe he just likes you."

Haru blushed even more. "Stop it, Yamamoto-san."

"All I'm saying is, he's never been that… nice… to you before." He said, kind of clumsily. "He's been acting different lately. You guys usually just shout at each other all the time."

"It's only because I got hit by a car." She said. "He thinks he has to make up for it or something."

"That's just the kind of person he is." Takeshi said. "He's always like that, especially to Tsuna, trying to do everything by himself."

"That doesn't really sound like him." Haru commented.

"Well, I did tell you he was acting different these past few days. But I'm not complaining." Takeshi said with a laugh. "He used to be so… well, different. What did you make him eat?"

"Cake?" Haru said, laughing. "I wish I could remember what he was really like… I wish I could remember everything…"

"You want to remember what he was really like?" Yamamoto said jokingly. "I think you should stick to the current version. It's quieter that way."

They both laughed. Minutes later, they arrived at Haru's house.

"But seriously, Yamamoto-san… you don't have to keep an eye on me. I can manage by myself." Haru said.

"I can't." Yamamoto said. "Gokudera told me he'd kill me if I didn't watch over you."

Haru turned a brighter shade of red. Yamamoto was laughing again.

"Usually he leaves the death threats for people looking after Tsuna." He said.

"How are they related?" Haru asked out of curiosity. "He seems to care about Tsuna-san so much."

"Uh… Tsuna is the first friend Gokudera made here in Japan." Yamamoto said, semi-truthfully with a smile so innocent you wouldn't imagine he left out anything important… which he did.

"But it still seems kind of strange…" Haru said. "…are you sure he's not-?"

"Well, he seems to like you, doesn't he?" Takeshi was trying very hard not to laugh. "Though you and he did use to fight over Tsuna all the time." Takeshi reminisced.

"Over Tsuna-san?" Haru said in disbelief, remembering the words of her classmates.

"Yeah. You always said you would be the one to marry him someday."

"H-hahi? But isn't Tsuna-san and Kyoko-chan-?"

"That never stopped you before." Takeshi said. "No, never mind." he chuckled. "I'm sorry. I guess I just confused you."

"It's alright, Yamamoto-san." Haru said. "I think it'll help me remember. Would you like to have some dinner?"

"Okay." He said as he took off his shoes and followed her inside.

"I'm home ~desu!" Haru greeted her mom, who was watching the news.

"Oh, will you be staying for dinner, Yamamoto-kun?" her mother asked when he saw him.

"If it's alright." He replied.

"It's no problem." Her mother said. "Where's Gokudera-kun?"

"I told you, he went to Italy." Haru said, sighing. "He never stays for dinner anyway. He always said he had something to do."

The news on TV got their attention. "Flight 145 from Namimori International Airport bound for Italy has crashed into the South China Sea. No survivors have been found so far… and rescue teams have found evidence of an improvised explosive device. Japanese authorities have tightened airport security and have begun investigating the incident."

Haru breathed out a sigh of relief… "Good thing they weren't on a commercial flight." _But why do I still have this feeling that something bad is about to happen?_

_But that was the flight they were supposed to be on. _Takeshi thought. _I've got to tell Tsuna._

_

* * *

_In Italy…

"_**You have to do better than that."**_ Gokudera said after he opened his Vongola box that contained his Storm Flame Cannon. _**"Eat this, you bastard. FLAME ARROW!"**_ the would-be assassin blew to the opposite wall.

_This is the second time I'm ever going to thank Giovanni. _He said as he felt the bullet lodged in his Kevlar vest. He then proceeded to grab the said assailant by the collar and interrogated him in the only way he knew. By using harsh words and threatening to blow him into the next galaxy.

"_**Who the fuck are you and why did you try to kill me?"**_ he said, shaking the horrified man. _**"I'm not very patient, so you better spill it. Fast."**_ He pointed the cannon in the middle of the man's face.

"_**Y-you can't possibly be the same Hayato that used to live here…"**_ the man said. _**"…how did you-?" **_

"_**I'm the right-hand-man of the Vongola Decimo. And I'm asking you for the last time. Who are you, and why did you try to kill me?"**_ He repeated.

"_**You'll always be the same half-breed brat!" **_the man smirked. _**"Like hell I'm going to tell you anything." **_

Another man entered the room and fired his gun. His bullet was blocked by one of the floating disks from Hayato's Sistema C.A.I.

"_**Wanna try saying again?" **_Hayato said, smirking. _**"I'm going to count to three… and your head gets blown off if you don't answer." **_

"_**One…"**_

"_**Two…" **_

Another gunshot is heard and the second man fell, his blood began staining the already red carpet floor.

"_**Are you alright Master Hayato?" **_an alarmed Giovanni asked as he entered the room, his gun still smoking.

"_**Yeah." **_He replied, trying to not be disturbed by the dead man's bleeding corpse on his bedroom floor. He turned to the man who shot him and pointed the storm cannon at him again. _**"If you don't want to end up worse than your friend over there… you better answer my question." **_

"_**You can't kill me. I told you… I'm not going to tell you a damn thing." **_The man said. _**"You're just a spoiled brat… and you've never killed anyone, have you? You're still the same-!"**_

"_**Fucking bastard." **_Gokudera was a second away from blowing the man's brains off… but Giovanni's bullet entered the insides of his cranium and beat him to it.

"_**You can be a three-fourth Italian, cigarette-smoking spoiled brat… but I'm not about to let you murder someone right in front of me." **_Giovanni said.

"_**I'm not a stupid kid you need to take care of anymore." **_Gokudera said as he let go of the man's now dead body. _**"I would've killed him. You know I would."**_

"_**That's exactly why I stopped you." **_The former bodyguard said. _**"I know the Vongola Decimo is a lot of things… but I am sure he would not want his right-hand-man to be a cold blooded killer." **_

"_**And you can be one? That man almost killed me!" **_he said, as he followed him out of his room with the discs of his Sistema C.A.I. behind him. _**"How do you know I haven't killed anyone yet? I've been a hit man for longer than you know!"**_

"_**And I've been like your older brother for much longer. I know you, and your eyes are still innocent." **_He said, checking the hallway for any more would-be attackers. _**"You know what it's like to lose people you care about, right? Even the people you kill matter to someone else. How can you think that it's so easy to end someone's life?"**_

"_**Tch. Stop lecturing me. You're the one who killed them." **_Gokudera said, contemplating that what Giovanni just said was all true, but he would never acknowledge it.

Sure he's fatally injured a few people, and probably killed a few in the process… but he's never killed at point-blank range, close enough to feel their pulse stop and see the light leave their eyes. And he knew his Juudaime would never have wanted them to harm anyone, even if he was to be the Boss of the most powerful Mafia Family in the world.

"_**And I'll have to live with the guilt for the rest of my life. Those men used to be your father's subordinates. We used to work together, and now they'll be waiting for me in hell." **_Giovanni entered a room full of bookcases and pressed a button hidden behind an unassuming hardbound. The bookcase opened to reveal a dark tunnel leading underground. _**"Get inside. Your father and sister are in there. Keep them safe."**_

"_**I can fight!" **_Gokudera protested. _**"I'm not some kid you have to protect!" **_

"_**When you are in this mansion, you are not Vongola's Storm Guardian. You are my boss's son, and my duty is to protect you. I failed you once tonight already… I don't plan on doing it again." **_He said, kicking Gokudera inside and closing the bookcase shut. Hayato heard his footsteps fade away.

"_**Bastard!" **_he shouted as he banged on the bookcase, and it didn't open. Giving up after trying to punch, kick, or shoot it with his Flame Arrow, he contemplated over opening his Vongola box that contained Uri, and using its Cambio Forma to try and blast the bookcase open. But the voice of his half-sister startled him. She sounded… terrified?

"_**Hayato? Is that you?" **_she said in the darkness. Feeling his way through the darkness, he went down the stone steps and saw her, her teary eyes sparkling in the torchlight.

_**"Thank God. Are you alright?" **_She had her arms around him and checked him for any injuries.

"_**Yeah, yeah." **_He said, trying to push away from her touch. _**"How's the old man?" **_

"_**Still breathing." **_He said weakly from his wheelchair. _**"If I knew that things have gone this far… I never would've let the both of you come here." **_

"_**And we'd just receive news that you died?" **_Gokudera said, surprised at the anger in his voice and the truth in his words. _**"Like hell we'd just let you get killed." **_

Bianchi smiled as she wiped her eyes. Their father was crying.

"_**Don't get the wrong idea. It's my responsibility as the Vongola Decimo's right hand man to keep allied families safe." **_Gokudera added. His father didn't stop crying tears of joy anyway. _**"I know that the both of you know what's happening. Why are your men trying to kill us?" **_

Bianchi explained everything. The struggle for power within the family grew stronger as their boss's health deteriorated. His children were being targeted so that no heirs would be left to take his place. She even told him the truth behind the incident with Haru.

_So it was all, really my fault. _He thought. _I can't believe I've gotten the whole family in danger… but now's not the time for that. The idiot's trying to play hero up there._

"_**Don't start blaming yourself again." **_Bianchi said, as if reading his mind. _**"You can't choose what family you're born into." **_

"_**Heh. It's not like I'm complaining." **_He said, smirking. _**"Can we get out of here so I can kick some traitor ass now?" **_

_**

* * *

**_At Tsuna's house, in Namimori…

"Have you seen the news, Tsuna?" Yamamoto said, hardly breaking a sweat even after running all the way from Haru's house.

"The plane Gokudera-kun and Bianchi were supposed to be on was bombed by some of their father's former subordinates." Tsuna replied, opening the gate and letting Takeshi inside. "Basil-kun contacted the people from Italy. Dino-san and his subordinates are on their way to Gokudera-kun's place. It's been attacked… but we don't really know what's going on right now." _And we can't even do anything about it._

"Don't sweat it Tsuna." Yamamoto said cheerfully. "This is Gokudera we're talking about."

_That's why I'm worried. _Tsuna thought. _He's the type that would rather die than give up. _

_

* * *

_In Italy…

"_**Uri!" **_Gokudera called to his storm-flame sbox weapon. _**"Cambio Forma!" **_the cat attached itself to his flame-cannon and formed an ornate bone-crossbow covered in storm flames. _**"Eat this! You bastards! Tornado Flame Arrow!" **_ And about a dozen armed men flew out the window.

"_**Very flashy. Vongola Storm Guardian." **_A voice from behind him said.

"_**B-bronco? The hell are you doing here?" **_he said when he saw the boss of the Chiavorone and his subordinates enter the now messed up grand hall of the manor.

"_**Tsuna asked us to help you out." **_He said. _**"But you seem to be doing just fine by yourself." **_

"_**Tch." **__Now I've gotten Juudaime worried. _

"_**Romario, could you and the others help fix things up and look for survivors?" **_Dino said to his men, who followed their orders immediately. He turned to Gokudera, _**"How's your father?"**_

"_**He's alright." **_Gokudera said, lowering his weapons. _**"He's probably with Bianchi." **_

"_**What about you?" **_Dino asked.

"_**Still standing." **_He replied. _**"I've been through worse." **_

"_**Where's Shamal? He was assigned to keep watch on this place." **_Dino said, looking around at the wreck all the fighting has caused. _**"You'll need a doctor more than anything else." **_

"_**I don't treat men." **_The doctor suddenly arrived, Trident Mosquitoes fluttering around him. _**"…especially right after just surviving a car crash." **_

"_**Car crash?" **_Gokudera asked, alarmed.

"_**The limousine I was in got attacked. Apparently, they thought you and your sister were in there." **_Shamal explained.

"_**The plane you were supposed to be on got bombed too." **_Dino added. _**"I can't believe someone would go so far to kill you."**_

"_**They haven't succeeded just yet." **_Gokudera replied.

"_**I see you're not into dynamite anymore." **_Shamal said, admiring the floating disks all around them.

"_**You're already using flame-based weapons." **_Dino said, impressed. _**"So it is true you've gone to the future. This technology shouldn't be around for at least ten more years. I'm glad we're allied with the Vongola and not against it."**_

"_**I still think brats shouldn't be allowed to use weapons like these." **_Shamal said.

"_**Well we already are." **_Gokudera said. _**"Let's get going, there are more of them out there." **_

"_**Take it easy. We'll take care of the ones who are left." **_Dino said. _**"You go look after your father and your sister." **_

"_**Oh, and that Giovanni was pretty badly hurt." **_Shamal said. _**"I made a one-time exception because your beautiful sister asked me to. She's taking care of him upstairs." **_

"_**You should call Tsuna while you're at it." **_Dino said. _**"I'm sure he's been very worried."**_

"_**You don't have to tell me what to do." **_Gokudera answered.

* * *

Back at Tsuna's house…

"Juudaime!" Tsuna heard over the phone's loudspeaker. "I'm deeply sorry for all the trouble I've caused."

"Are you alright, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked worriedly. "How's your family?"

"I'm fine. Everything's alright." He said. Tsuna let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad everything's okay."

"I'm really, really sorry for-" Gokudera wanted to add.

"Please don't start apologizing again, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna interrupted. "You were the one in danger."

"Alright, Juudaime." He said, following his boss's request. "What about everyone there? Has everything been alright?"

"Yeah." Tsuna answered. "Tell your father that Giuseppe-san has helped us out a lot. Is Dino-san there?"

"He and his men are downstairs." Hayato replied. "Thank you for sending help, Juudaime."

"It's only natural for a boss to take care of his subordinates." Reborn said.

"Haru's wondering when you were planning on getting back." Yamamoto said with a laugh.

The loudspeaker was silent for a few seconds.

"Shut up baseball-idiot." He said. "I'll be back when everything here's fixed up."

"Okay. I'll go tell her tomorrow." Yamamoto said. "Oh, and we got a perfect score on our science project."

"What else would we get?" Gokudera answered.

"And Tanaka-sensei also said you'd have to take his math test when you get back." He added.

"Bring it on."

And once again, Tsuna was surprised at how normal everything felt, even if what they've just gone through was very far from it.

* * *

And that night, though the huge window to his room's balcony was shattered to pieces in his bedroom, the red drapery was slashed and burnt in certain places, with the Tuscan breeze making its way freely into his bedroom, and the stench of blood that stained his carpet wasn't quite cleaned off yet…

He found himself sleeping more peacefully than he could ever remember. Maybe it was because the weight of the grudge he's been carrying for seven years has finally been lifted off his shoulders… maybe it was because he wasn't being haunted by the memories of his mother anymore… maybe it's just because the adrenaline from the fighting was wearing off… or maybe… though he would never admit it, it was because of the dream he had that night:

"Tch." Gokudera Hayato's left arm was currently being bandaged… again. "I can do it myself, woman."

"Hahi?" Mirua Haru chirped. "But your wounds will get worse of you keep moving! We have to take care of them first."

"I never asked you to." He replied in the same reproachful tone. "…stupid woman."

"Only stupid people call other people stupid, Gokudera-san." Haru said, continuing her work.

"Tch." _How many times have I heard that one before? _Gokudera begrudgingly let her finish, mainly because, well… it hurt a lot whenever he tried to move.

"I know you want to get out of here as soon as possible, but you need to get better." Haru said quietly.

"Juudaime must be so disappointed in me." He muttered mostly to himself, sighing. "What kind of right-hand man gets beaten up so easily?"

"You shouldn't say that, Gokudera-san!" Haru said. "Tsuna would just be sad if you get injured like this all the time."

Gokudera didn't answer. _If it's for the tenth, I'd be willing to throw away everything. _That was how it was, ever since he's sworn loyalty to the Vongola Decimo. He was simply the type of person that doesn't give a damn about himself, as long as it's for his boss. He was a subordinate anyone would dream of. He'd probably jump off a cliff if Tsuna told him to. He was just like one of his sticks of dynamite, living for that single, fleeting moment of existence. And his unwavering loyalty was proof of that.

"Now, please stay still and rest, Gokudera-san." Haru said, smiling as she left the room. He caught her faint words before the door closed: "Tsuna-san isn't the only one who wants you to get well soon."

When he woke up the next morning with the warm Italian sun entering through the giant, gaping hole in his bedroom wall, and despite the fact he was covered in bandages, had bruises all over, and his left arm was still sore, he couldn't help smiling like the idiot he was.

…until Uri began scratching his face like there was no tomorrow… and swear words in two different languages echoed throughout the manor…

* * *

::And that ends the big one-three. I personally think Gokudera deserves to win a battle. He's always the one on the losing end, or his fights are always undecided. Anyway, I think it's way too early to kill him off in this story… if I ever will. I'm also sorry if the last part was cheesy, I got carried away I guess.

::Haru's classmates are named after seasons, because Haru is too, they probably won't show up much. I notice that always run out of words like 'cheerfully', 'smile' and 'laugh' whenever Yamamoto and Haru are in the same scene. Can someone be 'too' happy? Or do you guys get the feeling he's got something up his sleeve?

::Thanks for reading, please review!


	14. Clandestine

::Sorry this one took a while, The Prince of Persia, Final Fantasy and the Sims 3 kept me busy. I was maxing out my game time since summer will be over.

::Oh yeah, there's a seven-hour difference between Italy and Japan, meaning that the attack on Gokudera's manor happened late at night, when it was only afternoon in Namimori. Time zones are such a pain, now I'm gonna start indicating the time of day whenever I change scenes.

::I still don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

* * *

"**.Clandestine."**

"_**What the heck, you stupid cat?"**_ Gokudera shouted after finally removing Uri from his face. The storm-flame cat then wrenched free of his grip and went out through the hole in his bedroom wall that led to the hallway like it was insulted. _**"Hmph." **_Hayato was supposed to sigh and lean on the balcony's railings… only they weren't there. They were in pieces, twenty feet down in the lawn below. _The whole place is trashed. _

"_**I hope you slept well."**_ Giovanni said, part of his head wrapped in bandages, with a happily purring Uri in his arms.

_You really hate me, don't you, Uri? __**"Oh yeah… The cold night air from the gaping hole in the wall was very refreshing." **_ Gokudera said sarcastically.

"_**Repairs have already begun, and it's time for breakfast." **_Giovanni said. _**"How are your wounds? Are you feeling alright?"**_

"_**I'm fine." **_He replied dismissively. _**"What about you?"**_

"_**As much as I hate to admit it… I'd be in deep water if Doctor Shamal wasn't around." **_Giovanni said with a sigh.

"_**You asked for it, trying to play hero last night." **_Gokudera said. _**"Don't worry. All Bianchi did to make him treat you was talk to him. He's not so bad… sometimes."**_

"_**Why would you think that-?" **_a flustered Giovanni wasn't even able to finish his question.

"_**Do you seriously think that I don't know? Come on, I've known since we were kids!" **_Gokudera said, almost laughing. _**"No one in their right mind would willingly swallow anything she cooked."**_

"_**What are you talking about?" **_Giovanni said, trying to deny the obvious. _**"I owe everything to your family. My parents worked for your father, and so do I. It's only natural that-"**_

"_**I said WILLINGLY. You always volunteered to try her cooking… and you always said it tasted good even if we all knew it tasted- well… you know. I should blame you for all the stomachaches I've had. She would never have gotten me to eat her cooking if she didn't think they tasted good!" **_Gokudera said.

"_**I'm as obvious as you are with that Haru girl, huh?" **_Giovanni said.

"_**I'm getting breakfast." **_Gokudera said, totally ignoring his former sentence.

"_**Watch out for that seventh step on the stair!" **_Giovanni called out. _**"It's about to fall off, so don't step on it."**_

_**

* * *

**_Morning, in Namimori, Japan…

"Good morning." Tsuna yawned sleepily as he went into the dining room for breakfast.

"Ohayo, Tsu-kun." His mother greeted from behind the stove. "You look worried… is anything wrong?"

"Something happened to Gokudera-kun in Italy… but it's alright now." He replied as he made his way to the table, where a glorious Italian-style breakfast was waiting for him. "Where are Lambo, I-pin and Fuuta?" he asked, since Reborn and Basil were the only one at the table.

"Giuseppe took them out to today, they'll probably be back later this afternoon." Reborn answered. "He also helped Mama cook breakfast."

"Wow." Tsuna said, as he took some bread and put it in his plate. "It looks really good!" _And since the others aren't here… we don't have to fight over food! _And he almost imagined what it would be like to have hundreds of subordinates ready to do anything at his command… almost.

"This biscotti is as delightful as the ones from home!" Basil said enthusiastically.

"I wonder if everyone your dad works with is that helpful." Nana said as she took a seat and had some breakfast.

_Oh right, we told kaa-san that Giuseppe-san was one of dad's friends from work. _Tsuna thought. _It's nice that she can have meals with us now, and not just be busy with cooking it for us._

_

* * *

_Afternoon, in Tuscany, Italy…

"_**Could you hand me that towel?" **_Bianchi said as she got out of the crystal-clear waters of the Olympic-sized pool in her red Italian swimsuit.

"_**Giovanni will get it for you." **_Gokudera said with a knowing smirk.

"_**Here you are." **_Giovanni said as he handed Bianchi her beach towel, trying not to look at her for too long, and instead trying to focus at glaring daggers at his former master.

"_**Thank you." **_She smiled as she wrapped it around her. _**"Why don't you try and have some fun, Hayato?"**_

"_**I've decided to pay a visit to the Vongola Nono in Rome." **_Gokudera stated. _**"Bronco is taking me with him tomorrow."**_

"_**Alright, then that means I can visit mother in France while you're gone." **_ She said. _**"Just be careful."**_

"_**I'll be surrounded by Bronco's men, and Giovanni doesn't want to leave me alone. I'll be fine." **_He said. _**"You're the one who has to be careful."**_

"_**Are you actually worried about me?" **_Bianchi asked, smiling.

"_**I promised the Tenth that we would return to Japan together." **_He answered. _**"I can't have you dying on me, can I?"**_

"_**You'd better not either." **_Bianchi said as she entered the manor. _**"But do try to enjoy yourself. There are some things you can only do in Italy."**_

"_**I'll try." **_He said as she left.

"_**Anyway, now that you're done making fun of me, your father asked me to show you something." **_Giovanni said. _**"Follow me."**_

"_**Alright." **_He said, as he followed him into the manor and up a set of stairs, but then he saw something on the wall that took his interest. _**"Wait a minute… is that-?"**_

"_**Yeah, an original Sunflower by Van Gogh. Your father has taken an interest to collecting rare paintings recently." **_Giovanni said.

"_**Let me guess… 'collecting' here meaning 'acquiring in an illegal manner' or you know, stealing?" **_Gokudera said, admiring the painting.

"_**We may be an organized crime family, but we are not petty thieves. We paid real money for it, if that's what you're asking." **_Giovanni replied.

"_**Does it still count as stealing if you hired someone else to steal it for you?"**_

Giovanni didn't give him the courtesy of a reply.

When they finally reached the room…

"_**What are you doing here, Francesco?" **_Giovanni said as they reached an obviously top-secret room full of high-tech equipment.

"_**Watching football." **_The shade-of-green haired teenager replied in a bored tone. _**"Italia doesn't seem to be doing so well."**_

"_**Francesco?" **_Gokudera said, looking at him with a surprised look. _He… he looks like that guy from the future… the new guy from the Varia. _

"_**He's a new recruit." **_Giovanni said. _**"He's about your age, and he's got some pretty interesting abilities..."**_

"_**You mean he can use illusions and stuff like that?" **_Gokudera said.

"_**What are you talking about?" **_Giovanni said in disbelief. Fran stopped blankly looking into space and looked at Gokudera with the same indifferent look . _**"I don't know about illusions, or where your father found him, but he seems to be impervious to pain." **_Giovanni said.

"_**I see." **_Gokudera said. _It's strange… seeing people I already know from the future for the first time in the present. _

"_**Why is he staring at me?" **_Fran asked Giovanni with a blank expression.

"_**He happens to be the son of our Boss, which means he will be your boss in the future, so you better start showing some respect." **_Giovanni retorted. _**"Now, get out. You're not supposed to be using high-tech equipment just to watch television."**_

"_**Alright, alright." **_Fran muttered as he quietly got out of the room. _**"But don't bother asking me who won the game."**_

"_**I can't see why we even recruited him." **_Giovanni said. _**"Though we did find him completely calm and collected during the attack here in the manor… and all the enemies around him were mumbling incessantly, like they were going crazy. I don't think I even want to know what happened in there." **_He sighed. _**"Maybe we should send him to the Varia… if apathy was a sin, he'd be the perfect demon."**_

"_**I'm sure you didn't make me go all the way here just for that. What is it that father asked you to tell me?" **_Gokudera asked, getting back in focus.

"_**Right, sorry." **_Giovanni went to the nearest computer and opened a few files. _**"The boss was supposed to be the one to show you all this… but since he's still recovering, I've been assigned to tell you in his stead." **_

"_**You already know that our family poses as Italian winemakers to the outside world, and that underground, we used to take jobs involving security, assassinations and black market trading." **_Giovanni said, showing Gokudera a series of photos on the giant LED screen. _**"The family is also one of the Vongola's largest weapons suppliers, and because of that, we are counted as one of their important allies. That, and we have you, the Decimo's Storm Guardian."**_

"_**So? What's the point in telling me all this?" **_Gokudera said.

"_**I'm telling you the reason why dangerous men are trying to kill you." **_Giovanni said. _**"As I was saying… ever since we've been allied to them, some of your father's men began thinking that we were relying on them too much, that the family was growing weaker and they were taking over. They were especially troubled when they found out you were still alive, and working for the Vongola."**_

"_**Wasn't I just the 'oriental-bastard-half-breed'?" **_Gokudera said. _**"So what if I worked under the Vongola? It's not like I posed a threat."**_

"_**Well, you do now. And, you are still your father's son." **_Giovanni said. _**"He cares about you, whether you believe it or not. They think your father was getting 'soft' or just old, and it was about that time when he started feeling ill. Some of his men started thinking it was just about time to get a new boss… and they certainly didn't want someone from the Vongola, namely, you, giving them orders."**_

"_**But during the attack last night-"**_

"_**Yes, most of them are either dead or injured, but we can't ignore the fact that there are still people out there trying to get you. Those traitors aren't the only enemies we've made in the mafia." **_Giovanni explained.

"_**What does the old man want me to do then?" **_Gokudera said. _**"He can't have gone through all that trouble to get me to Italy just to pay him a visit, or get me killed."**_

"_**I don't know for sure. I was only ordered to tell you all this." **_Giovanni answered. _**"Maybe he's just an old man who wants to ask forgiveness from the son he hasn't seen in seven years."**_

"_**Don't get sentimental with me." **_Gokudera said.

Giovanni smiled. _**"If you ask me… the answer to your question has been staring you right in the face… ever since you were born."**_

Gokudera's eyes widened slightly at the realization. _**"…he… he wanted me to go to Italy to replace him as boss of the family."**_

_**

* * *

**_Dismissal time, Namimori Middle School…

"So… the rumors are true…" a gruff looking guy said as Tsuna got out of the campus. "…Gokudera's not here."

"…c-can't we talk about this?" Tsuna pleaded.

"Oh, there's nothing to talk about." The bully's friend said.

"…I-I didn't do anything…" he tried to run for it, but the bully grabbed him by the shirt.

"Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko entered the scene with her brother.

"Oi! Let go of him." Ryohei said.

"Great, the boxing club captain is here. Don't think this is over, loser." The bully said as they left.

"You okay, Sawada?" Ryohei asked.

"I'm fine." He replied, catching his breath.

"This happens to you a lot, doesn't it?" Kyoko said, helping Tsuna up.

"I'm really not fit to be in the mafia." Tsuna muttered to himself. "I can't even save myself."

"You're amazing, Tsuna." Kyoko told him. "You've saved us a hundred times and even got us all home safe from the future."

"She's right, Sawada!" Ryohei said enthusiastically. "We all know you could've taken them if you tried."

"But I can't-!" Tsuna said frantically.

"No." Kyoko said, smiling. "You chose not to, because you know that it wouldn't lead to anything good."

Tsuna smiled. _Maybe… maybe Kyoko-chan is right._ He tried not to go into a thirty-minute daydream of long walks holding hands with her at the beach, and asked: "Wait a minute, where's Yamamoto?"

"He said he had to meet Haru-chan." Kyoko said. "I wonder what they're doing…"

* * *

Outside Midori Middle School…

"Good afternoon, Yamamoto-san." Haru said brightly as she left the campus, she was wearing her P.E . uniform, and a wig.

"You too." He replied cheerfully. "Why is your hair all white?" He asked when he noticed her brunette locks were now long, white, and wavy.

"We had theatre club practice today." She replied brightly.

"Do you usually forget you're wearing a costume?" Yamamoto asked when she didn't seem like she was going to take it off as they started the walk home.

"No. Haru likes wearing them on purpose." Haru replied. "I'm freaking you out, aren't I?"

"Not really." Yamamoto said. "If it's fun and you're not hurting anyone, then why not do it?"

"Thanks." Haru then jumped on top of the nearby wall and started to walk on top of it, arms stretched out like a tightrope walker.

"What are you doing?" Yamamoto asked out of curiosity.

"Trying to clear my head." She replied, like what she was doing was perfectly normal. Passersby have already started to stare at her with looks that clearly said 'is she crazy?' or 'that's dangerous!' one guy in orange thought that it was awesome how she could keep her balance though.

"Up there?" Yamamoto asked, amused. _This is… weirder than usual._

"The world looks very different from up here… sometimes all you need is a new point of view." She replied, then she smiled and jumped down with a cartwheel that took the wig off her head. "Haru's feeling better now."

"Why? What's the problem?" he asked.

"Well… Haru's been getting these weird dreams lately." She said, putting the wig into her bag. "…I keep seeing flames in different colors… and explosions… and scary things."

_Those aren't her dreams… those are her memories… _Takeshi thought. _Maybe calling them dreams is just her way of dealing with it._

"But then… Haru thought…" she stopped walking. "…I lost my memories in that car accident right? So… what if all these things in my head are my lost memories?"

"Uh…" Takeshi didn't know what to say.

"…they don't make any sense to me… I had this one dream where everyone was saying that we were in the future… and you, Tsuna-san, and Gokudera-san were all in a big battle…" she explained. "…but that would be impossible! People can't travel through time, and why would you guys even get involved in battles? You're middle-schoolers!"

"Yeah." Takeshi just agreed so that he wouldn't have to lie.

"…Haru's probably just going crazy…" she muttered to herself. "…some people say Haru was always so weird and unexplainable… now I can't even understand myself."

"Don't worry too much, Haru." Takeshi said, trying to comfort her. "It'll make sense sooner or later."

He hoped that he wasn't lying.

"Okay." Haru said, forcing a smile. "I'm jealous of how you can stay so happy all the time, Yamamoto-san."

"You're like that too, you know." He replied. "Just keep smiling, and then other people will smile too."

_I'm running out of things to say, Tsuna. _Takeshi thought. _We better get ready for when all her memories return and she finally understands what's been happening. I don't want to lie to her._

"Thanks, Yamamoto-san. See you tomorrow." She said as she entered her house. _Why do I get the feeling that I'm missing something important… not knowing about something at all is different from feeling like there's something you're not being told. _

"Yeah. See you." He replied.

Oh yes… there was definitely something she wasn't being told… and it wasn't just about the mafia.

* * *

Nighttime, Italy…

"_**I know I'm asking too much from you, Hayato." **_The old man said from behind his desk, he was looking healthier now. _**"But you are my only son." **_

"_**I never asked to be the boss of your family." **_He replied. _**"I'm a member of the Vongola now. I can't possibly inherit your position."**_

"_**So what if you're under the Vongola? That doesn't mean you're no longer part of our family. Wouldn't it be better for them if their Decimo's right hand man controlled an entire mafia family himself?" **_his father said. _**"Don't run away from something you were born to become."**_

"_**Isn't Bianchi supposed to be the one to replace you? She's older than me…" **_Gokudera said.

"_**She… she wanted me to offer the position to you. She wants you to become boss." **_He replied. _**"She believes in you." **_His father said. _**"And so do I and everyone else who still serve under our name."**_

"_**She knew from the beginning? This is why she wanted me to go to Italy with her? It wasn't just because you were sick and she wanted to take care of you?" **_Gokudera said.

"_**Maybe. But don't get me wrong…" **_he said. _**"…I-I am glad to have seen you again. I am getting old after all… I didn't want to die with you still hating me."**_

"_**I…I never hated you. I thought I did… I wanted to…" **_Gokudera said. _**"…but… when I found out the truth… I guess I thought coming to Italy just for that would be enough for me."**_

"_**Thank you… for forgiving such an old bastard like me." **_His father said with a chuckle.

"_**You should thank Bianchi. She showed me the truth. And you're not that old." **_He said._** "I refuse to become the boss of this family… while you're still capable of doing so."**_

"_**So I guess I can't keep you here for much longer eh?" **_his father said. _**"Japan sure has put a spell on you… or maybe it's that charming girl Giovanni keeps telling me about."**_

"_**Are you sure you're okay with our family fully working under the Vongola?" **_Gokudera asked, ignoring his father's last sentence.

"_**Yes, as long as you're the one pulling the strings." **_He replied. _**"You could turn the family into just an Italian wine-making company if you want."**_

"_**You're serious?" **_

"_**Of course. I'll probably be dead anyway… it's not like I can stop you." **_He replied, smiling. _**"Maybe I'll even go to Japan with you. I can thank Vongola's Decimo properly for taking care of you… and we could try seeing how it feels like to have an ordinary father-son relationship. We could see football games and stuff."**_

"_**What the-?" **_

"_**And I can meet this Haru girl… you're still a little young, but Amore is Amore. And it would be nice to see grandchildren before I get too old…" **_

"_**Goodnight, father." **_Gokudera was walking out of the room already. _I may have forgiven you already, father…but I don't want to talk to you about stuff like that just yet. Don't push it._

"_**You'll be fine as long as you don't ask Shamal for advice!" **_

Gokudera could hear his father still laughing when he closed the door.

* * *

::So there was another plan under that other one… if that makes any sense. And it looks like Haru's memories are really coming back now. Is Gokudera's dad really planning on going to Japan with them? And what is Yamamoto hiding? I've been hinting it for a while, so it's probably really obvious now.

::This will probably last update for the summer… expect the next chapters to take a lot longer, since I'll probably be busy with school. But I'll try my best to update as fast as I can. Oh my god… I'm starting senior year on Tuesday…

::Oh yeah, Happy Araw ng Kalayaan sa lahat ng mg a kababayan ko dyan. Hehe.

::Thanks for reading! Please review!


	15. Notturno

::I finally found enough free time to update… they weren't kidding about senior year being 'hell year'.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Notturno."**

Just after Yamamoto dropped Haru off at her house…

"Hahi?" Haru exclaimed as she entered her house. "G-Gokudera-san sent all these?"

Yamamoto was walking away when he heard Haru shout. _So he is serious about her… _

"A tall man in a suit dropped them off just a while ago…" her mother said with a teasing smile. "…he said Gokudera-kun sent them from Italy, and he hoped that you like them."

"So many…" Haru mumbled as she took in everything around her… her house was filled with so many flowers of different kinds and colors, from the whitest lily to the reddest rose. "…are you sure it was G-Gokudera-san who sent all these?"

"I'm positive." Her mother replied, smiling. "He's such a sweet young man, don't you think?"

"Mom!" Haru was waving her arms and shaking her head in embarrassment, but she couldn't hide the apparent tinge of red on her cheeks.

"You are named after the spring after all… and he already knows the easiest way to your heart." She said with a chuckle.

"And that would be?" Haru asked skeptically, once she regained her composure.

"There's a cake that came with all the flowers." Her mom said. "It's in the fridge, and I took the liberty of getting a slice and taste-testing it for you."

"And?" Haru asked, though trying her best to pretend that the cake didn't matter… but failing.

"I wouldn't mind if you married him. That was one of the best _**Pandoro di Verona**_ cakes that I've ever had." She replied with a laugh. "I remember the time when I met your father…"

"Not the story about the cake shop when you were still in college again…" Haru sighed. "…a cake may be the way into your heart, mom… but-"

"You can't deny that you like it too. That look on your face was so… cute, when you got surprised by all the flowers. Few people would ever go through the effort of doing anything like this… I mean, a bouquet everyone gets… but enough flowers to fill a house?" Her mom said, Haru wondered whether she was serious, or just teasing her. "Now that's sincerity. He's already saved your life… what more could you ask for?"

"I get it, I get it…" Haru said. "I'll thank him. But that doesn't mean that-"

"Whatever you say, Haru-chan." Her mother replied with a knowing smirk, and turned on the television to watch the news. "Oh, and try to get the name of the cake shop where he got that cake while you're at it." She added jokingly.

Haru went into the kitchen and got a slice and brought it up to her room… then she took out her cell phone.

* * *

Around midnight, Italy…

"_**The hell! What kind of person calls at this hour?"**_ Gokudera shouted as his phone woke him up from a dream that involved a massive alien invasion and the discovery of an Ogopogo skeleton. He grabbed it from his bedside drawer and answered the call. "Tch. What is it?" _Stupid woman… this better be something important._

"G-good afternoon ~desu." Haru said awkwardly.

"It's past midnight here, stupid woman." Gokudera said. "What's wrong? Are you hurt or something?"

"No, no. It's nothing like that." She replied sheepishly, though the thought _he's worried about me? _did brush her mind for the slightest millisecond. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. Uh… I guess I should just call again later wh-"

"You call me in the middle of the night, without thinking that I might be enjoying some sleep, and now you're going to hang up without even saying why you called me in the first place?" he said, clearly annoyed.

"It's just…"

Gokudera could almost hear the unease radiate from his phone's speaker. "Spit it out, stupid woman." He said. "International calls are expensive."

"Haru would like to thank you for all the flowers!" she blurted out. "…and the cake." She remembered to add.

"What the-?" he said. _I don't know anything about any flowers… don't tell me… the old man was SERIOUS? _He would've slapped himself if he didn't know any better. Meaning, the scratches from Uri's claws would've made the impact of his palm on his face hurt a whole lot more.

"…it tastes really good… and the flowers are so pretty…" she said, trying not to stutter in awkwardness.

"Uh…" Hayato wasn't sure if he was supposed to be happy or angry… _Why the hell would I be happy? _so he settled for tongue-tied instead. "…uhm…"

"…" both phones were silent for three whole minutes… and if you were a hopeless romantic, you could've sworn they were just listening to each other breathe.

But really… they just ran out of things to say… for a while.

"…uh… I'm… I'm glad you liked them." Gokudera mumbled, remembering what Reborn scolded him for a long time ago. _A Mafioso should know how to treat a lady._ And etiquette lessons from his childhood already taught him how to do so.

"Hahi?" Haru said. "I-I didn't catch that…" But she did, she just wasn't sure if she believed it.

"I'm going back to sleep, Haru." He said to his phone, realizing that there was no way in hell he said what he just said. _Did I just call her Haru?_

"Okay." She answered. But there was something she was meaning to ask him for a while. "Wait, may I ask you one more thing?"

"What is it?" he said.

"Do you like _**Linguini alle Vongole**_?" she asked.

_Huh?_ "What? The pasta?" he replied in disbelief. "Why?"

"Uh… I've been getting weird scenes in my head where everyone was talking about Vongola or something… I never thought you guys thought so much about food." She uttered quickly, in fear of being called stupid again.

"W-what?" Gokudera's eyes widened in surprise. _Her memories are really coming back. _

"Uh… no, never mind. I'm really sorry for waking you up, Gokudera-kun." she said quickly. She hung up and breathed a sigh of relief.

Right after pushing the 'end call' button… Gokudera was pondering on whether to call Tsuna, and Haru plopped herself on to her bed mentally scolded herself for asking such a stupid question.

Only… the question wasn't stupid at all. Well… not literally.

* * *

Tsuna's house…

"LAMBO-SAMA is back!" Lambo announced as he entered the house.

"Did you have fun, Lambo-kun?" Nana said as she was folding the laundry.

"Sure did! Giuseppe took us to a big flower shop and let us pick lots and lots and lots of flowers!" Lambo said. "We also ate lots of candy!"

"The flowers were pretty." I-pin said.

"I ranked them all and we bought the top 50." Fuuta said.

"Then we met Haru's Mama." Lambo exclaimed. "She likes cakes a lot!"

"I've never met Haru-chan's mom before…" Nana mused. "Ah… Giuseppe-san, would you like to stay for dinner?" she asked when the tall man entered the room.

"I don't mean to intrude, madam." He said as he dropped off three boxes.

"You wouldn't be." Nana said. "It's more fun to cook for more people."

"I'm sorry, but I have a previous engagement." He said.

"Ah well… thank you for taking care of the kids." She replied.

"It was my pleasure, they were a big help." He said as he turned to leave.

"Come back tomorrow so we can play again, Giuseppe!" Lambo called out as he started opening one of the boxes that were dropped off.

"Okay Master Lambo." He replied and then left on his black Mercedes.

"See, he knows what to call Lambo-sama." He said, eying I-pin. She responded with a blank look.

"Wanna help me cook some dinner?" Nana said to the three.

They all replied a resounding "Yes!"

* * *

Morning, Italy…

"_**Master Chiavorone and his subordinates will be leaving for Vongola Headquarters after breakfast."**_ Giovanni said to a Hayato who was currently fixing his hair. _**"The Boss is in the grand hall. He wants to talk to you."**_

"_**Alright."**_ Gokudera replied, leaving the room.

He arrived in the sunlight-filled hall moments later, where his father was failing at playing the piano.

"_**Did you sleep well?"**_ the man asked, hurriedly standing up and pretending he didn't just try to play on the hall's grand piano.

"_**Yeah."**_ Gokudera replied, looking around, wondering how the whole manor was miraculously repaired in one day. _The damage should've taken at least a week to repair… even for the mafia._

"_**You're wondering why everything suddenly looks like the attack on our family never happened?"**_ his father asked, seemingly reading his thoughts. _**"Of course, a family must never show weakness, that will leave us open to attacks and make us seem vulnerable. Being in the mafia is also a game of appearances -" **_

Then Hayato remembered something. _**"You're using illusions."**_ He said, without waiting for his father to finish his sentence.

"_**As expected from a Vongola Guardian."**_ His father smiled._** "Our youngest recruit, Francesco, has two very interesting… and useful, abilities."**_

"_**I know."**_ Hayato replied, recalling his memories from the future. _**"Where did you find him anyway?"**_

"_**All your questions will be answered when you become Boss of this family."**_ He replied. _**"Anyway, that was not the reason I wanted to talk to you."**_

"_**It was to hear you play the piano, wasn't it?"**_ Hayato smirked.

His father coughed awkwardly. _**"Didn't you ever wonder why I fell in love with your mother?"**_

Hayato didn't reply. _I'm not exactly in the mood to talk about… stuff like that. _He thought to himself.

"_**Well, now that you're done laughing at your old man's pathetic attempt at music, I called you here to show you something."**_ His father walked toward the giant oak doors that lead to the garden and beckoned his son to follow.

"_**I've always wondered what was so special about this maze."**_ Hayato muttered as he followed his father outside and into an elaborate hedge maze. _**"This used to be one of the places I would hide when-"**_ _Oh right, he doesn't know about Bianchi's poison cooking. _

"_**When?"**_ His father asked, stopping in his tracks before making a turn to look back at him.

"_**Never mind."**_ Hayato said, continuing to walk. _**"What are you going to show me anyway?" **_

"_**You'll see."**_ he replied, passing a Venus-de-Milo looking statue.

"_**This isn't really the-?"**_ Hayato couldn't help but ask.

"_**No, but it is a very convincing replica, don't you think?"**_ the old man replied, smiling.

They reached an ornate old wrought-iron gate after a few minutes. He turned to look Hayato in the eyes and his expression became serious, but his eyes betrayed his sadness. _**"Now, this is a secret between father and son. No one else is to hear about this, alright?"**_

"_**What the-?"**_ was all Hayato could say.

"_**Just promise me."**_ he said.

"_**Yeah, yeah. All right."**_ Hayato replied.

His father took something out of his pocket and opened the gate. Hayato then heard something whoosh past the right side of his head and hit something on the other side of the hedge. It yelped… then was silent.

He gave his father a weird look when he saw him giving a thumbs-up at the direction of the manor.

"_**You may not know this, but Giovanni is one of the best snipers I know."**_ His father explained.

"_**So that thing…"**_ Hayato pointed at where the thing went through the hedge. _**"…was a bullet… and the thing that made a weird sound… is now dead?"**_

"_**Yes."**_ His father smiled. _**"The men have been having problems locating one of the traitors, they've sealed off all the exits to this place, so he's been hiding around here since the attack."**_

"_**So we were the bait to lure him out?"**_ Gokudera said, tying everything up in his head. _**"So that's what the whole 'secret' thing was all about? To make him think you're showing me some weapon or treasure or something?"**_

"_**Partly. I think the main reason he would've gone out would be to kill the current and future boss of this family. But…" **_His father answered, returning to his previous seriousness._** "…of course I didn't bring you all the way here for nothing."**_

Hayato was just thinking _what the hell… _

Nevertheless, he followed his father inside the wrought-iron gate… and what he saw next, he honestly didn't expect… a flower garden with a pond… and an epitaph.

"_**It's… mother's grave?"**_ Hayato said. _**"It was here all this time?"**_

"…_**yes."**_ His father said, the look in his eyes told Hayato that he was hoping he would understand.

"_**I really do love her."**_ His father said, beckoning him to come closer.

"_**But… what about Bianchi's mom…"**_ Gokudera mused.

"_**You see… Bianchi's mother and I were arranged to be married by our parents. We never really learned to love each other… but she is my best friend."**_ His father explained.

"_**She treated me like I was her real son."**_ Hayato said_**. "I owe her a lot."**_

"_**Bianchi's gone to France to visit her."**_ The man said. _**"Anyway… this was what I wanted to show you. I guess… I wanted closure. And… I think I owe it to you, to show you this."**_

Hayato kneeled down on the grass and stared at the epitaph on the ground littered with flowers. He couldn't believe what was just six feet below him… _**"She… she died while she was driving to my third birthday… she was never able to hear me play the Moonlight Sonata." **_He narrated with a sad smile on his face.

"_**You played it so beautifully back then."**_ His father put his hand on Hayato's shoulder. _**"She would have loved to hear you play again."**_

"_**I've been avoiding the piano ever since I ran away from here all those years ago…"**_ Hayato said. "_**I couldn't ever remember what she looked like… but I could never forget her. Why did she have to be so thoughtful?"**_

"_**She decided it would be best if you didn't find out she was your mother." **_

"_**But…"**_

"_**You would've been safe from the pain of losing one." **_

"_**No I wouldn't."**_ Hayato said, clenching his fists. _**"I've lived eight years of my life as someone else's son, and seven as no-ones."**_

"_**You never stopped being my son, Hayato. Even if you yourself didn't acknowledge it." **_

"_**I think it's about time I stopped thinking so much about the past… she wanted me to live a good life. I should be thinking about the future."**_ He stood up and wiped his eyes, even if no tears were shed.

"_**But first things first… do you know anything about a shipment of flowers that suddenly found their way into the Miura household?" **_

"_**I didn't if you didn't like it. But I'll take credit if you did."**_ His father replied, with a smile.

* * *

Namimori…

"Why does it have to rain on the day I don't bring an umbrella?" Haru sighed as she stared at the downpour outside the sushi shop's window.

"It was sunny this morning." Takeshi said with a bright smile, despite the rain and being soaking wet. "I didn't bring one with me either."

"Gokudera-san would probably be calling me stupid right now." Haru said as she sneezed and held the blanket over herself to get more warmth.

"The weather's been unpredictable lately." Yamamoto said, handing her a cup of steaming hot chocolate. "It's not your fault for not bringing an umbrella."

"Thank you, Yamamoto-san." Haru said, taking a sip. "I'm sorry for all the trouble. I got your jacket all wet… I also promise I'll return your mom's clothes after I get to wash them."

"It's nothing!" he said, rubbing the back of his head. "The jacket would've gotten wet anyway, and dad would kill me if I just let you drip all over the shop and get sick."

"Thanks, Yamamoto-san." Haru replied, returning his smile.

The door suddenly opened, revealing a soaking wet and out-of-breath Gokudera.

"I thought I told you to take care of her." He said, scowling at Takeshi.

Yamamoto was about to reply, but Haru interrupted him.

"He is." Haru said defensively. "It was my fault."

"Your mom told me to bring you this." He said, throwing a plastic bag with a change of clothes and an umbrella in her hands.

"Since when did you get back from Italy?" she asked.

"This morning." He said. "I went to your school, but your classmates told me you already left with the baseball-idiot over here… then I went to your house, but your mom said you haven't reached home yet."

"We got caught in the rain." Takeshi explained. "This place was nearest to where we were."

"I'm not going to ask where or what you were doing. It's none of my business." Hayato said.

"We were planning on getting something for when you and Bianchi-san return." Haru said. "You should've told us you were coming home."

"Stupid woman." Hayato muttered. "So now it's my fault you got all wet in the rain?"

"I didn't say that… and you're all wet too. Why didn't you bother using the umbrella mom got for me?" Haru sighed.

"You can't run in the rain if you're busy trying to use an umbrella so you don't get wet." Hayato smiled a mysterious smile, and patted her head… which was something Hayato Gokudera would never normally do. "You know, Haru…it would be better if you stayed stupid."

"Hahi?" Haru looked up at him was surprised at such a comment… and wondered why it sounded like a compliment.

"Because if you weren't stupid…" Gokudera smirked and moved closer… so close she could feel his breath on her face. "…you never would've fallen for dumbass like me."

Then, a thundering sound came through the heavens… and everything was swallowed in seven-colored flames…

_~Ne Kami-sama, oshiete yo dou sureba negai wa kanau?~ _

And Haru woke up, hit her head on her table lamp, realized that everything was a dream and that she fell asleep in the middle of writing her English Essay on climate change… that, and her phone was ringing.

* * *

::That ends chapter 15. I'm really, really sorry it took so long.

::Sorry about the last scene. I just needed to break the semi-serious mood. I bet everyone saw right through it. Too cheesy to be real.

::Uh… Haru's ringtone's lyrics are from Lovely-Mocochang(dot)Com's Oh! My Juliet… and it roughly translates to: "Please, God, tell me, what do I have to do for my dreams to come true?" (uhh… implied meaning maybe?) They're otherwise known as LM.C, who sang two of KHR's opening themes: 88 and Boys & Girls.

::Thanks for reading, please review!


	16. Alacrity

::I'm really sorry this took such a long time. Writer's block was kicking in, and there were so many sleepless nights for schoolwork. I hope this one is up to par. _**Bold italics**_ are still what they were since 15 chapters ago.

::I still don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Alacrity."**

"Haru." The unmistakable (yet strangely awkward) voice of Gokudera said over her phone. "What took you so long?"

_It's all your fault. If you didn't butt into my dream it probably wouldn't have lasted so long...wait… WHAT? _"I fell asleep, sorry." Haru replied.

"Oh. Uh… I guess I should've paid more attention to the time. Sorry." He said so politely it almost sounded forced.

"It's alright, this way, we're even." Haru said. _And I can finish my essay. _"It's still kind of early."

"Ehh… well… how are you doing?" he asked.

"Hahi?" Haru felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "You called just to ask me that?"

"It's not what you think it is, stu- Haru." He said. "Have you noticed anything weird? Has anything bad happened?"

_Nothing… except for you. _"No, not really. I haven't been hit by any cars and I always look both ways before crossing the street." She answered. "Have you been smoking again? You sound different."

"No, I haven't." he replied. "Anyway… just call me if you see anything, and tell Juu-T-Tsuna-san or Yamamoto about it."

"Yeah, alright." Haru said. "Oh, when are you coming back?"

"Maybe later this week. I'm not sure." He replied. "About those dreams you're getting… you shouldn't worry too much. It's probably just your subconscious acting up."

"Okay." _My subconscious must be going crazy. _"Have you fixed everything with your dad?" she asked.

"Yeah. He'll probably force me to introduce you to him when we get there." He answered without really thinking.

"I'm glad everything's alright." She said, smiling even if she knew he wouldn't be able to see it.

"Yeah. I gotta go. Take care of yourself." _The heck… did I just say that? It was just so she wouldn't end up in trouble… so Juudaime wouldn't get worried... yeah. That's it. _

"I will. You should try it more often."

"Fine, fine. I get it."

Meanwhile, in Italia…

"_**Happy now?"**_ Gokudera said.

"_**Very."**_ his father smiled. _**"But I think you'll still be calling her even if I didn't force you to."**_

"_**If you're done… I'm leaving."**_ He said. _**"The Nono is expecting me, and the Bronco and his men are waiting."**_

"_**Alright then. Good luck."**_ His father said.

* * *

Vongola HQ…

"_**Everything looks… exactly the same."**_ Hayato said as he took in his surroundings. The red drapes, the giant windows, the display statues, the paintings…

"_**You've only been gone less than two years."**_The boss of the Chiavorone family replied. _**"A family's headquarters usually only changes when a new boss takes charge."**_

"_**It feels a lot longer than two years."**_ Gokudera said, then his eyes narrowed at who he just saw at the end of the hallway, walking towards them.

"_**Chiavorone, you're late."**_ The mist Arcobaleno said, floating above his companion's head. **"**_**Squalo's being his usual noisy self again."**_

"_**I'm sorry. We got held up. I'm on my way."**_Dino said with an awkward laugh. _**"You already know where the ninth's office is right? I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. I've got a meeting with the Varia."**_And with that, he began to leave, trying not to make it obvious that he almost tripped on his way there.

Hayato began walking down the hall, when he suddenly felt a sharp cold pain on his left cheek. He touched it with his hand, and saw that his fingers were red with blood. _**"Damn Knife-freak."**_ He could faintly hear Belphegor snickering and muttering something like _**"Idiots should bow before princes…"**_

He wiped the blood off and proceeded down the hallway like nothing happened. Once he turned right, a loud explosion echoed through headquarters.

"_**VOII!"**_ Squalo shouted. _**"We just had that damn wall fixed when Bronco's turtle ate through it last week!"**_

Gokudera smirked and continued on his way… ahh, the smell of gunpowder in the morning.

* * *

"_**Good morning, Hayato."**_ The ninth said kindly, sitting on the high-backed Italian leather chair behind a polished hardwood desk bearing the Vongola crest.

"_**Good morning, sir."**_ Hayato replied with a bow. He then proceeded to get on his knees and bow even lower. He took a deep breath and prepared to say what he had been practicing to say in his head for days. _**"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. I've put the family in danger and -"**_

Timoteo smiled and let out a soft chuckle. _**"Take a seat, son."**__ He said. __**"You don't have to apologize for anything." **_

Gokudera followed and sat on the chair opposite the Vongola Ninth. He knew he shouldn't keep on pressing the fact that he should take all the blame for everything that's happened… he saw it in the old man's eyes that he was forgiven, or that he didn't sin to begin with.

Then a tall man around the Ninth's age with what seemed like a steel left arm entered the room. He took no notice of Hayato, and proceeded to speak to Timoteo in whispers.

Meanwhile, Gokudera took the time to look around the room… _the last time I was here… I was being recruited by the Vongola… _he looked up at the painted ceiling, the ornate figurines… and the giant portrait of the First Vongola Family on the wall to his right.

He had met them… sort of. It was eerily strange, how each former guardian greatly resembled the ones of his own generation. G even had the bad attitude and longish-hair… Asari was Yamamoto in Feudal Era clothes… Primo was a blonde Tsuna. Okay, so maybe Daemon looked nothing like Chrome, but he was surely a Circus-freak clothed Mukuro, and Knuckle was a better looking Ryohei.

The painting had Primo sitting in a lavish red sofa, his guardians looking serious (except Lampo, who looked bored) all around him. G even had a similar scowl… he then remembered his inheritance test, where G transformed himself to look like him. He pretended to be the right hand man of any boss's dream; while he was stuck in the bushes looking for a storm-cat that wasn't there.

That was the day he affirmed his loyalty to the Tenth, the day that he promised to be his boss's right hand man, whether the first Vongola Storm Guardian deemed him worthy or not. It was also the day he was reminded of just how unreliable he was… always the first to put the blame on others and causing Tsuna to get all worried because of his brash nature… he passed the inheritance solely because of his boss's kindness – and the fact that he considered him a friend.

Then Hayato saw the man talking with the Ninth give him a stern look. He thought of returning a similar look at the man, but decided against it. He was in the presence of the current Vongola boss after all.

The two men ended their conversation, and Timoteo gave Hayato an apologetic look. _**"I'm sorry Hayato. I forgot to introduce you; this is Coyote Nougat, my storm guardian." **_

Gokudera stood up to show his respect, and said rather halfheartedly: _**"It's my honor to meet you sir."**_He also wondered if storm guardians were destined to wear different versions of the same hairstyle.

"_**So you're the Tenth's tempesta eh?"**_ the tall man said with a hint of disbelief. _**"You certainly look the part."**_ He said, glancing at the First Family's painting at the wall. _**"Though, you are a bit too young."**_

_You're too old. _Hayato thought defiantly. There was something about this guy he just didn't like – well, he didn't like a lot of people. Maybe it was just because the man didn't seem to like him either. _**"Just remember that it is the guardian's job to protect the family – not to endanger it." **_And with that, he left. Hayato felt a sharp pang inside him. Those words cut through him like the knife did just a few minutes ago.

"_**Don't mind him." **_Timoteo said. _**"Age makes us all a bit bitter. Take a seat."**_

"_**Yes sir." **_Gokudera said, and got back on the chair.

"_**Seven years ago, you ran away from home and lived your life alone, looking to join a mafia family." **_Timoteo said. _**"I have to be honest with you – we didn't seriously consider you to be a hit man at the time. I just couldn't bear the thought of letting a child live like that, so we took you in. You were only eight… you lost your innocence so early."**_

Gokudera suddenly felt awkward. It was strange, having your life narrated to you by someone else. He kept silent.

"_**By the time you were thirteen, you were already acting in the name of our family. I think you might have been too young – but you had talent. And you might not have grown up to be the exemplary guardian you are today if you weren't trained early." **_The Nono said, while Hayato regained some of his pride. _**"I do not regret sending you to Japan, to be the Tenth's guardian. I can't think of anyone more worthy. Don't blame yourself for all that's happened." **_The old man sighed. "_**If you should blame anyone, it should be me – I allowed you to become a member of our family without fully informing your own, and without granting you enough protection."**_

"_**It was my choice to -" **_Hayato wanted to interrupt, but the Ninth raised his hand and stopped him.

"_**Yes, yes I know." **_Timoteo said with understanding. _**"But I think I should have addressed your problems with your father before I asked you to be Tsunayoshi's guardian, even if you did not want to. Your father asks about you every time he visits. I am glad that both of you are getting along."**_

"_**As for you endangering the family, you shouldn't worry. The Vongola has faced far worse. We might have let you children do our job for too long. We, even after years of living the life of a Mafioso, might not have been able to do the extraordinary things your generation has accomplished in the future. I am sure you are all fully capable of protecting yourselves – but we have sent members of CEDEF and some men to Japan, just in case." **_Timoteo smiled. _**"You are a member of the Vongola family, and we do have the duty of protecting each other." **_

Hayato was thinking of saying 'I'm not worth the trouble, please don't bother yourself' but decided against it. Saying that would only lead to the Ninth having to repeat everything he has said so far. Still, he felt useless and guilty – he was a guardian who needed protecting.

"_**Don't dwell on it too much. You are still a teenager after all." **_Timoteo said. _**"I'm sorry all of you have to take on so much responsibility at such an early age. It's about time the grownups did the work."**_

"_**Yes sir, and thank you." **_Hayato replied. _Thank you, for everything._

_

* * *

_The manor, afternoon…

"_**What the-?"**_ Gokudera looked at the main hall of the manor, surprised to see about a dozen bags of luggage all neatly packed.

"_**Your father has decided it was about time for him to visit Japan again."**_ Giovanni said, smiling. _**"Everything was prepared while you were at the Vongola headquarters. He's very excited."**_

"_**What about Bianchi?"**_ Gokudera asked.

"_**You're actually thinking about your sister, Hayato?"**_ she said as she appeared behind him, beaming and looking like she could hug him.

"_**It-it's just that we left Japan together so -"**_ he tried to make it sound like he didn't care, but failed. _**"Anyway, how's… mother?"**_ he asked for a change of topic; which only succeeded in making things even more awkward.

_Mother… _he couldn't remember calling Bianchi's mom anything else. She had always treated him as her own child, and he did consider her to be his real mother – but that was before he knew the truth. Well, the fact that she cared for him was also true, there was no denying that. Still… seven years was a long time.

"_**She's absolutely fine. She would've loved to see you again, how much you've grown. She fussed over how thin you were when I showed her a picture." **_Bianchi laughed. _**"She's been very worried."**_

"_**There was nothing to worry about." **_Hayato said sheepishly.

"_**You know mothers, always worrying." **_Bianchi's smile faltered when she realized that might not have been the best comment, but she regained it after she saw the small smile on her half-brother's face. _**"She's been particularly worried that you won't find a proper bride. She was almost about to tell me if you wanted to meet some pretty French girls but -" **_

"_**WHY IS EVERYONE ALWA-" **_he wanted to vent out his frustrations then and there. But the next words Bianchi told him made him stop dead in his tracks.

"…_**but I told her you already found someone." **_She smiled her usual knowing smile.

"_**But-!" **_he wanted to say something… but didn't really know what the hell it was.

"_**Don't worry about it! It was just to get you out of blind dates with French girls." **_She explained, though the look in her eyes said otherwise. _**"Unless you wanted to... we can call her if you like." **_

"_**It's fine, it's fine." **_Gokudera brushed off.

"_**We've packed most of your clothes already. You should go to your room and check if there's anything else you want to bring." **_Giovanni said.

"_**Alright, alright." **_Gokudera said as he hurried upstairs.

* * *

When he went upstairs and opened his cabinet, none of his clothes were in there anymore. All he saw left in there was the bag of old letters the Bianchi from the future gave him.

He rummaged through its contents, and noticed that he's only read less than half of it. It wasn't an entirely pleasant experience, reading through the exchanges of his parents. It was like looking into something you weren't supposed to – like going over a barrier that had a large 'keep out' sign in front of it.

But reading them did tell him something. He finally found out the truth. He finally understood everything. He finally had the resolve to talk to his father and forgive him for the sin he didn't commit. Still, looking through someone else's memories like this made him think that maybe all memories were painful – even happy ones… because they would all fade away eventually.

Was that the same thing that was happening to Haru? What is it like to just forget in an instant? What would they do once she regained her memories? Would they just keep her blissfully ignorant and feed her lies?

She was a liar too, he remembered. That ever-present smile on her face was always there telling them she was alright and she was going to be brave – but it did not succeed in hiding her worries and tears from him. He never bothered to tell her that he knew. He didn't want to break her façade because he had a feeling she knew he was trying to keep up his own.

At least, now that she was free from her memories… her smile was pure, true happiness without a care in the world. And he didn't know why he suddenly felt the urge to keep it that way.

The photograph that fell to the floor stopped his train of thought like a car hitting a brick wall.

"_**I've never seen this photo before." **_He said out loud, eyes widening in shock with every second he spent examining it.

The photograph was obviously taken at a wedding. Everyone was in their formal clothes and paused with happy, smiling faces at the camera… but the strangest thing was… the twenty-five year old Haru was standing right beside his twenty-five year old self… but Yamamoto was standing right beside her too, on the other side. He didn't know why he was counting the number of people on that line in the photo… but Haru was in the exact middle, and she was wearing the wedding dress… and that meant…

He didn't know… he wasn't ready to know… all he knew… was that Haru married either him or Yamamoto… ten years in the future. And he didn't know which one he would like to happen – or rather, didn't admit it.

Never in a million years did he ever imagine anything like that. Or… that was what he told himself.

He then regretted not asking anyone from the future about what would happen in the ten years of difference in time. He hadn't asked if he would become the right-hand-man he always dreamed of, if Yamamoto really did become a baseball star or if his boss finally married Sasagawa Kyoko. He was too caught up the past that he forgot to look at his future… and now it slapped him right in the face.

_What is this doing in here anyway? _He thought. _These were supposed to be letters from mom and dad… or did the Bianchi from the future want to tell me something? _

And he hoped, that there was something, anything in there that would explain. Maybe a letter from Bianchi, or a note from his future self…because the realization that finding out the future was much more troublesome than finding out the truth about the past was dawning upon him.

* * *

::Oho… what the hell was that about? I'm not telling… yet.

::On another note… don't you think the whole Shimon arc seems kinda rushed? I don't know… but at least they didn't have to spend loads of chapters being trained again... and the new gear looks awesome.

::Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm sorry I don't have the time to reply to everyone.

::Thanks for reading, please review.

::Special thanks to Kurisutiin-chan for all the help and support!


	17. Homecoming

::Rightie… we're finally getting back to the land of the rising sun! (I'm sure I'm not the only one who's getting annoyed with all the time zone differences and language barriers…) though I will miss describing the lavish contents of Gokudera's manor and the Italian countryside…

::Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. You're really the ones who keep me going.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Homecoming."**

"Hayato!" his sister's voice called from the other side of his bedroom door. He scrambled and hastily returned all the letters and photographs into the bag, trying to forget the photo's mental image that might just have permanently etched itself into his mind. **_"Are you finished packing yet?"_**

**_"Yeah, just a second!"_** he replied as he closed the bag and headed out the door. Though, he couldn't help but wonder if no one touched the contents of the bag… or what the photo was all about… he was sure that he would check every letter and every photo when he gets the chance.

But for now, all he had to worry about was how to stay sane on his return trip to Japan. After all, being stuck on a plane with Shamal, Bianchi, Giovanni, and his own father, was something he would be doing for the first time in years… that, and the fact that there was this ominous feeling of unease that was creeping up on him like the frost of the first winter's day…

…or maybe he accidentally ate some of Bianchi's poisoned cooking.

* * *

Namimori, Midday…

"Oh my god…" A girl gasped and turned hastily in the other direction. She immediately whispered to her friend, in the excitable squeaky voice only a true fan girl could use: "Gokudera-kun is back!"

This was then followed by classes getting interrupted because of girls rushing to windows to get a good view of the silver-haired rebel. He ignored them, of course, letting out the usual sigh of frustration… and he entered his usual classroom and took his seat in front of the teacher's table without bothering to knock or greet.

"So you finally decided to grace us with your presence, Gokudera." Tanaka-sensei said.

He merely glared at him as a reply. This, of course, just led to firing up the said teacher's already sour mood.

"I'm sure you've been studying hard while you were vacationing in Italy… what is the third derivative of the function on the board?" he said, smirking, confident that Hayato would not be able to answer it correctly, after all, the function took up about half of the blackboard.

"Eighty-six." Gokudera answered calmly, not bothering to stand up, a smirk of his own on his lips.

"Ha! It's impossible for anyone to answer that without even writing down a solution on paper! Getting the derivative of a function requires-" his smile came crashing down as he looked for the correct answer on the textbook. "There's no way you could have- it's impossible…"

"No, it's eighty-six." Gokudera so smugly corrected.

Back in the back row, Tsuna let out a sigh of mixed relief and frustration… _at least everything's back to normal._

The teacher quieted down and grumbled to himself as he wrote down the next problem on the board. _Someday, you brat… _

Gokudera then took out a piece of paper from his bag, and paid more attention to the weird patterns of skulls, fish, aliens and dinosaurs than to his teacher…

* * *

Gokudera's apartment…

**_"This is where Hayato's been living for the past year?"_** his father said as Giovanni unpacked their luggage. **_"Not bad."_**

**_"We could provide a more lavish place… there are many hotels here in Japan that will-"_** Giovanni suggested.

**_"No, no. This is fine."_** The man said. **_"This is more of a home to him now than our manor back in Italy. Besides, we've never experienced what it's like to live like a normal father and son."_**

There was just something in that idea that gave Giovanni an odd feeling… like something was going to go hilariously wrong. **_"Is Master Bianchi going to be staying here too?"_** he asked.

**_"No, she said she was responsible for the people staying in the Vongola Decimo's house. I guess the little kids have grown fond of her."_** He smiled and looked around. **_"Though… you could get that LED TV and other things in here to make this place more like home… I don't think Hayato would complain."_**

**_"Yes sir."_** Giovanni replied.

* * *

Namimori Middle School…

"Doodling in class?" His math teacher said, glad to finally have a reason to scold the boy. "I'll be taking this." He said, smirking as he folded the piece of paper and inserted it between the pages of his lesson plan. "You may be able to answer all the questions in the world, but I am still your teacher, and I think I deserve some of your respect."

Hayato didn't give the man the courtesy of a reply. His brain was too busy decoding the image of the paper still left in his head… he was sure it was something important. He knew himself well enough to know that much. His future self even went through the process of using two different methods of coding… he was only halfway through the letter when the teacher took it.

Well, one thing was for sure… he was going to have a little nocturnal field trip exploring Tanaka-sensei's desk later…

* * *

Break Time…

"Welcome back, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna greeted once their teacher went out. "How was your trip?"

"What happened?" Yamamoto asked.

"Well…" he then told them as much as he could about his time in Italy, about the message the Nono wanted him to tell Tsuna, about the details on the attack on the manor, about the assassination attempts… he left out much of the more personal things, like his visit to his mother's grave, and his phone calls with Haru… and of course, the letters and the photograph.

"I'm glad you and our dad are alright." Tsuna said with a kind smile.

"Thank you, Juudaime." Gokudera replied. "I was supposed to talk to your father too… but he wasn't in headquarters at the time."

"That's alright." Tsuna said. "He always calls mom and I'm sure he's got a lot of things to do."

"So… when are we going to meet your dad?" Takeshi asked cheerfully. "I'm sure the old man would love to meet him."

"I'm not sure." Gokudera said. "I don't even know why he went back here to Japan with me."

"He probably wants to make up for all your lost time." Takeshi said. "Pops does that sometimes, when I'm always away busy training he'd bring me some food or something."

"Gokudera-kun! You're back." Kyoko arrived. "I'm sure Haru will be so happy. She's always wondering about how you're doing."

They didn't know why… but an aura of awkwardness soon filled the room like a mist guardian's illusion.

"Uh… yeah." Gokudera smiled awkwardly.

Tsuna had a knowing look on his face, and so did Takeshi…

"Speaking of Haru, you're going to be the one to pick her up from school now, right?" Takeshi asked almost rhetorically.

"I guess so." Hayato answered.

"Alright. That means I can schedule baseball practice later." Takeshi smiled.

"I'm sorry if it took up your time." Hayato said.

Takeshi gave a nervous chuckle. "Are you feeling alright Gokudera?"

"You're actually apologizing." Tsuna said with a bit of surprise. _To someone who isn't me!_

"Everyone settle down and take your seats." Their science teacher came in, class resumed.

* * *

Later that afternoon…

_Great, how the hell am I going to get that letter now? _Gokudera thought as he walked to Midori Middle School. _Maybe I should stop looking after the stupid woman… it's not like she was the target to begin with. I might be putting her in danger instead of protecting her when she's with me… I should be spending as little time with her as possible to keep her safe. _But there was just something in him that wanted to be wrong… something he didn't really understand and wasn't going to bother trying to.

Hayato saw a girl with long silvery-white hair by the school's entrance, seemingly waiting for someone. There weren't very many people with that hair color in the world, after all… he wanted to know who she was, she so reminded him of his mother.

"G-gokudera-kun?" The silver-white haired girl smiled at him in surprise.

"S-Haru?" he said, surprised that the girl was now talking to him in Haru's voice… and had Haru's face and eyes.

"You didn't tell me you'd be back today." She said in mock annoyance. "You look… alright." She said, once she saw the bandages around his arms and the one on his left cheek.

"I'm fine." He said, shrugging it off. "The heck happened to your hair?"

"It's a wig." She replied, taking it off. "I'm in charge of the costume department of our school play."

"So you just randomly decide to wear it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Of course, why else?" she answered with a laugh.

He just sighed in frustration.

"Don't be like that, Gokudera-kun. You just got home!" she said, and for a second there, she realized that she called him with a different suffix than usual…

A moment of awkward silence snaked its way between them and settled like an invisible wall with the word "no" painted in big, bold letters. They started walking.

Gokudera busied himself with thinking up a way to retrieve that letter from his teacher's desk. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park to sneak into Namimori Middle… it was easy, since they have done it a lot of times. But this was different. He had to keep everything in place, no explosions, no waterfalls, no giant robots… no mafia funding to fix everything. Well, maybe a few sticks of Mini Bombs would open doors without too much damage…

"Oh no." Haru said as she lifted her palm, letting the raindrops fall on it. "It's raining again."

"Damn it. On the day I don't bring an umbrella." Gokudera said in annoyance.

"Don't worry. I've got one." Haru said. _I remember to bring one with me every day since I had that weird dream._

"You're not such a stupid woman after all." he said.

"Why does it always take you so long to realize it?" she replied, taking out her transparent plastic umbrella and shielding them from the rain.

"An umbrella's not going to do us much good if the rain is this strong…" he said, looking up at the sky as the rain poured even more. "Let's go… you need to get home." _And I need to get that letter…_

_

* * *

_They continued walking until the rain was so strong that their socks were wet and the umbrella couldn't prevent their clothes from getting somewhat soaked.

"…maybe we should just look for a place to wait it out." Haru suggested.

"I guess so, before we get soaked through." He looked around for such a place.

"Hey! That café looks good." Haru said, pointing at a building across the street.

"We're just looking for a place to wait till the rain stops." He said, just looking at the place gave him a bad feeling…

"You just got home. I didn't get hit by a car. You've quit smoking. We're both still alive." She said. "Isn't that a good enough reason to celebrate? It's not like we'll get anywhere else in this weather."

"Fine. It's either that or a bus stop." He said, sighing.

So, they decided to cross the road. Unfortunately, a passing bus and a gust of wind caused Hayato to let go of the umbrella, and the sky had full view of them and mercilessly rained upon them. The umbrella was gone, useless, now that they were already wet.

They ran and ran… and reached the other side, everything from the tips of their hair to the socks in their shoes soaked with rainwater.

"Shit." Hayato said as they finally reached the café.

"Well… at least I didn't get hit by that car." Haru said jokingly. "Come on, let's get in before we catch a cold.

They opened the door and were greeted by a sight they didn't expect.

"Konichiwa, goshujin-sama." A girl in a frilly maid costume greeted.

"Konichiwa, hime-sama." A guy in a tuxedo greeted beside her.

_Oh fuck. _Was the first thing that crossed Hayato's mind. That lonely bus stop looked so much more appealing right now.

Haru was laughing. "I've never been to a themed café before. It looks like fun."

"Would you like to avail of our special service today?" The maid said politely.

"What does that mean?" Gokudera asked in a whisper. Haru looked around.

All the customers seemed to be wearing costumes.

"It's our Shakespeare-night." The one in the butler outfit said.

"Okay." Haru smiled. "…as long as we get out of these wet clothes."

"You just want to wear a costume." Gokudera said.

"Then stay here and drip all over the carpet." She replied.

"Tch. Fine. I'll go." He mumbled reluctantly. "…stupid woman."

The butler showed him to a changing room.

"Feel free to choose anything you like." He said politely. "…but you know… you should be more enthusiastic."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gokudera said.

"You're not going to keep that cute girl for long if you keep acting like a friggin' idiot." He said in a more casual tone. "Always compliment. Be more polite. At least pretend to be interested in whatever the heck she's doing." He smiled. "Otherwise she's gonna get sick of your attitude and leave you behind."

"I never said anything like that." Gokudera said.

"Oh, we get customers like you all the time." The butler replied.

"Freak."

"Dumbass."

Gokudera slammed the door on him and decided to start changing.

* * *

"Let me guess… you're supposed to be Romeo?" Haru said, eyeing Gokudera's costume as he sat opposite her.

"I thought I was Mercutio." He said boredly. "Well, it was either this or Oberon in tights and fairy wings."

She laughed, imagining Gokudera in a fairy outfit. "Wait. Doesn't Mercutio die in the story?"

"Everyone dies in Romeo and Juliet. I prefer Mercutio's death. At least he was fighting, and he didn't die because of stupidity." Hayato commented.

"Isn't it still stupid to give up your life, even if it's in a battle?" she said albeit worriedly.

"That depends." He replied, catching the worry in her tone and changing the subject immediately. "Who are you supposed to be anyway? Don't tell me you're Juliet?" _That would just be way too cheesy._

"Not if you're Romeo." She said jokingly. "They told me this outfit was for Miranda from The Tempest."

"I haven't read that one." Gokudera said. _Ironic though… _

"Me either." She said. "So… what are we eating?"

"They told me they had a special menu for tonight. Whatever that means…" he said. "Don't girls usually think about their weight all the time and shit?"

"Eating right is a vital part of everyday life." Haru said, matter-of-factly. "You're not the only ones who have to eat healthy food because of all that training you're doing…"

"What did you just say?" Gokudera said, shocked.

"I said you're not the only ones who have to eat healthy because –" her eyes widened in realization. "…I-I think I just remembered something."

"Tell me. What do you remember?" he asked anxiously.

"Me, Kyoko-chan… Bianchi-san…" she closed her eyes. "…in a kitchen… cooking…"

"What else?"

"…you… sleeping…" she said, her eyes still shut. "…wounded… bandages… i-it's all blurry… I can't really understand."

He looked at her worriedly. "I-it's alright. Don't force yourself to remember. It'll all make sense eventually." He hoped he wasn't lying.

"I-I wish I could make sense of it all." She said, some sadness reflected in her eyes. "…I can't stand not understanding so much… there are so many things I don't know… so many things I should remember."

Gokudera honestly had no clue about what he should do. "U-uh…"

Thankfully, the maid and the butler laid out their dinner before them.

"It all looks so delicious!" Haru said, her mood much more cheerful than a minute ago.

_What the-? One minute she looks like she's about to cry… then she's all happy again… maybe she isn't stupid… maybe she's crazy… _he thought as he started eating. _…maybe I'm the crazy one… eh, at least she didn't cry again. It would've been too troublesome. _That, and he probably didn't want to see it happen.

They continued eating their meal in silence that seemed less awkward than before…

* * *

Gokudera's phone rang just as they started on desserts.

"Yeah?" he said.

**_"It's pouring outside… your father's wondering where you are… it's kind of late."_** Giovanni said from the phone.

**_"I'm in a café with Haru._"** Gokudera replied without thinking twice. **_"We got caught in the rain."_**

**_"Oh… so that's what you've been up to."_** Giovanni said in an amused tone. **_"…your father wanted me to ask you if you want me to pick you up… but since you seem busy and all…"_**

**_"Hey wait."_** Hayato said. **_"Go do that. It'll take forever if we wait for the rain to stop."_** He then gave Giovanni the café's address and turned off his phone.

"I can't believe I didn't think of calling them before!" Hayato said to himself in frustration. "We never would have been in this mess."

Haru smiled at him. "It's not so bad." She said cheerfully, looking around. "We could've ended up a lot worse, and it's not your fault. You aren't used to having them around, so it's only natural you wouldn't think of them at once."

In all the calm and awkwardness of the past afternoon, Gokudera suddenly wondered if those days of shouting each other's heads off were gone forever… _they probably aren't. _He just couldn't help but be more careful while she was in such a broken state – while she couldn't remember and couldn't fully understand. They could find some other petty thing to argue about later… anyway, it was inevitable that they would.

Giovanni arrived moments later… and Hayato still had that letter from the future in mind.

* * *

::Rightie, well that was just a three-thousand word cheese-fest. I hope next chapter's revelations will bring everything back to balance… I wonder if anyone's already guessed what the hell that damn letter was all about.

::I can't believe they decided to cut the anime just as Tsuna and everyone else got back from the future… I hope they're just on break, because I wanna see Shimon get crushed in color.

::Thanks for taking the time to read. Please review if you can.


	18. Shattered

::Persona 3 Portable, schoolwork, part-time jobs, and preparing for our cosplay on November 6 has prevented me from updating this earlier, but because I promised myself I would update before my semestral break ends, I now bring you guys chapter 18. (though I have been working on this chapter during free time at school… which is unfortunately, very scarce.)

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Shattered."**

A black, fresh-out-of-the-factory looking sedan parked right outside the café just after Hayato and Haru changed back into their (now dry) school uniforms.

"Giovanni?" Hayato said, surprised. "What the-?"

His former bodyguard just smiled at him. He whispered _**"You don't expect me to come pick you up in my suit did you? Doesn't it just scream MAN FROM THE MAFIA?" **__Or men in black… _

"_**Right. But people are staring at you. What the hell are you wearing?" **_He replied.

"_**But I thought everyone in Japan dressed like this nowadays. I searched the internet…" **_he said, confused. His usually neat jet-black hair was dyed blonde at the ends, and waxed. He was wearing a rococo-themed get up, something that looked like it belonged in eighteenth century France… and his face was heavily made-up.

"Is he a friend of yours, Gokudera-kun?" Haru said as she approached them with an amused look on her face. "I didn't know you had friends that were fans of Visual Kei."

"Visual Kei?" Gokudera asked.

"It's really popular here in Japan." Haru said, eying Giovanni. "Not so much in a quiet town like Namimori… but some of my friends in Tokyo say it's all the rage."

_Quiet town my ass. _"Oh… oh yeah! That's right. This is Giovanni, he's uh… one of Bianchi's friends from Italy… he's a big fan of Japanese culture and stuff, so he came here with us." Hayato said, making it up as he went along. "He offered to pick us up, and I agreed since it was getting late and it's still raining hard."

"_**It's nice to meet you, Giovanni-san." **_Haru said cheerfully in semi-Italian.

"Yoroshiku, Haru-san." Giovanni said in Japanese with a heavy accent. _Giuseppe was always better at learning languages…_

Haru giggled. "You've already learned Japanese?"

"Hayato-san has been teaching me." Giovanni answered.

"Anyway… we should get you home. You're mom's probably all worried." That, and Hayato still had that letter to pick up from Tanaka-sensei's desk.

"It's alright. She doesn't worry when she knows I'm with you." Haru said… and her face suddenly turned red after realizing what she just said.

Giovanni smiled at the fact that his former master was turning the exact same color.

"Still…" Hayato said awkwardly.

"Yeah. Maybe I should get home." She yawned.

* * *

Later, in the car…

"Oh yeah, Hayato-san…" Giovanni said, taking out a box from the passenger seat and handing it to Gokudera at the back. "…you forgot to bring this today."

"Huh?" Gokudera thought. "This isn't-"

"It's the gift you bought for Haru-san in Italy…" Giovanni said with a knowing smirk.

_What the hell? I don't remember buying anything – oh fuck. I should really talk to that old geezer about this. First the damn flowers, then the damn cake… now he's making me give her presents… if I didn't know any better I'd say he was setting up for –SHIT._

"Hahi?" Haru was blushing. "Gokudera-kun actually bought me something?"

"Uh… I guess?" He replied. _It's not like I can deny it anymore._

"…you shouldn't have bothered… but thank you." She smiled, taking the box and putting it on her lap.

"Don't mention it." He said. "Seriously."

"Alright, alright." She said, almost laughing.

Silent minutes pass as they go through Namimori's empty streets as rain still fell heavily from the sky…

Hayato felt something lean against his shoulder… _oh God, why do I suddenly feel like I got sucked into a shoujo manga? _He turned to see what it was, and half-expecting Haru to be sleeping on his shoulder…_ DAMNIT. I DID NOT JUST IMAGINE THAT. _He shouted inwardly to himself.

Only… she wasn't. She was sleeping soundly, leaning on the window on the other side of the car.

And on his shoulder? Uri, his storm-cat box weapon.

He gave a sigh of relief…or was it… disappointment? Well… he managed to convince himself it was the former that he was feeling.

Well… whatever the hell it was, the feeling didn't last very long. Uri greeted him in the usual fashion, claws at the ready. But this time, he couldn't do much, he couldn't even swear at the damn cat loudly… Haru might wake up.

* * *

When they arrived at Haru's house…

"I'm really sorry…" Hayato said as Haru's mom answered the door.

"It's alright…" she smiled. "…you've brought her back safe and sound more than once. We trust you."

"Well… bye then, Gokudera-kun." Haru said, regaining her poise after just waking up. "Wait a minute… what happened to you?" she was referring to his messed-up hair and the scratches on his arm's bandages.

"Uh… let's just say Giovanni's still getting used to driving on the other side of the road." He lied again. "…you were just so sleepy you didn't notice."

"I must've been more tired than I thought." She said, almost laughing. "I better get to bed. Uh… goodnight."

"Yeah. Goodnight." He said as he turned away. "Goodnight, Miura-san."

"Same to you." Haru's mother replied, smiling. "Take care of yourself."

**_"Did you seriously have to do that?"_** Hayato said to Giovanni once he got back in the car.

**_"I was under orders."_** He replied, with a smile that annoyed Gokudera to no end. **_"Besides, your father was just trying to… you know… help you along."_**

_**"With what?"**_ he asked, feigning his own ignorance.

**_"Why can't you just admit it to yourself?"_** Giovanni was almost laughing. **_"You like that girl. You know you do."_**

**_"Shut up. Start driving."_** Gokudera snapped.

Giovanni sighed. **_"See. You're angry because I'm right."_**

**_"I said shut up. We're going to Nami-Middle."_**

_**"Fine, fine…"**_ Giovanni started the engine.**_ "…I just don't see what the hell your problem is. There's nothing wrong with her. Her mom even trusts you enough to be with her… your dad can't wait to meet her."_**

"She isn't the problem…" He muttered under his breath.

* * *

Later, at Namimori Middle School…

"Wait here. This won't take long." Gokudera said as Giovanni parked the car.

"Alright." He replied, not bothering to ask why the hell his young master would be breaking into his school at night.

Gokudera climed over the fence and opened the back door with a mini-bomb he attached to the doorknob. He went in and searched for the Math Faculty Office. _There it is... _he thought as he saw the painfully clean, meticulously tidy teacher's desk that bore his math teacher's name plaque. He finally found what he was looking for between the pages of his math teacher's lesson plan. He remembered to return it in it's proper position after taking the letter, and was out on the hallway a minute later.

However, he was stopped on his way out by none other than Hibari Kyouya.

"What's a herbivore like you doing here at this hour?" he said, ominous piano music playing in the background, tonfas at the ready.

"Do you actually live here?" Gokudera said, exasperated. "I only took what's mine."

"Students aren't allowed in here after hours." The head of the disciplinary committee said, a sadistic smirk forming in his lips.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" Gokudera answered back, his Vongola ring ablaze, ready to activate the Sistema C.A.I.

"Get ready to be bitten to death."

"Not likely."

Red and violet flames shone brightly in the school's corridor, and numerous floating hedgehogs filled it.

_You're not the only one who can propagate with flames… _Gokudera smirked as he combined his cloud and storm attributes, producing a branching flame-cannon that hit each of Hibari's box weapons.

"Not fast enough." Kyoya was behind him in an instant, and his spine would've taken a hit from Hibari's tonfa if it wasn't for the fact that his flame-disk moved at just the right moment to allow him to escape.

"Shit." He said, looking for a way out of the hedgehog-filled corridor. "Where the hell is that damn cat when I need it?" _Come to think of it… I haven't seen him since we dropped Haru off at her house._

The hedgehogs were still multiplying, and Hayato was getting cornered. His floating disks formed a barrier around him, preventing him from being crushed. _What the hell is wrong with this guy? I can't believe he's our Cloud Guardian._ _I've got to get out of here._

He loaded his flame-cannon with the machine-gun rounds that allowed him to use his sun-affinity, shooting like a lunatic at every hedgehog in front of him until he managed to reach the end of the hallway, where he shot the window and jumped off.

**_"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"_** Giovanni shouted from the ground as he saw Hayato jump out the second-floor window.

Hayato landed on his storm flame-disk and got into the car, slamming the door behind him. **_"JUST DRIVE!" _**_This letter better be worth all this trouble._

* * *

Gokudera's apartment…

**_"Remind me never to do that again."_** Gokudera sighed tiredly as he plopped down on the sofa.

**_"Noted."_** Giovanni said.

_**"Wait… what is all this stuff?"**_ he said as he looked around. There were a lot more things in his apartment than when he left for Italy. Expensive things.

**_"Your father said that you wouldn't mind."_** Giovanni replied. **_"You want me to return them?"_**

Gokudera looked at the huge LED TV hanging on his living room wall. **_"No, no, it's fine. Wait, where is he anyway?"_**

**_"Probably sleeping. It's past midnight already."_**

**_"Right. I'll be taking a walk for a while. Don't wait for me."_**

_**"Are you sure? Don't forget, there are a lot of people out there trying to kill you."**_

_**"I'd like to see them try."**_ Gokudera said. **_"It's not like you can stop me."_**

* * *

Gokudera walked two blocks to a small park and sat down on a bench next to a lamp post. He took the slightly crumpled and torn letter from his pocket and started decoding…

Minutes later…

He couldn't help but re-read the same line, the same paragraph, over and over… but he couldn't retain anything, he couldn't understand… it made perfect sense… yet his brain was unable to register what it all meant. His hands were trembling, his throat was dry, his mind was vigorously trying to interpret what he had just written on the piece of paper right in front of him.

_If you're reading this letter, you and Juudaime have probably returned to your own time safely. I'm sure you did everything to support him and get everyone back to the past. I apologize for everything all of you have had to go through in my time, because we were not strong enough to take care of all of it ourselves._

_Reborn-san old us that we shouldn't tell you too much about the future, that you should find out about it all by yourselves, make your own paths and live your own lives. Since your defeat of Byakuran in my time has probably changed the future you and everyone in your time is facing, this warning may not be of much use, but I cannot help but tell you about it… I am afraid that not doing so may end up being the greatest mistake of both our lives. I took this chance selfishly, and I hope that you would forgive me, yourself, for doing so, because… I will do anything to stop these from being your biggest regrets. _

_First, our father will try to contact you in the ten years separating you and me, and in my case, I let my pride take hold and my hatred of him cloud my judgment. I was never able to forgive him for what he did to our mother… and it was too late when I found out the truth._

_He died in the lonely manor in Italy, with only his closest subordinates and our sister for comfort. I wasn't there to witness his final moments, I was away on business for the Vongola while death slowly took him away with his illness. I ignored Bianchi's requests to come and her constant pleading… _

_After the funeral, which I did not attend, she slapped me in the face and gave me these letters while tears were flowing from her eyes. I couldn't believe what I just read… I didn't want to believe I was living the past few years in a lie… in a painful, stupid lie. _

_So now, though this might turn out to be a big mistake, I am entrusting her of giving these letters to you. I think that taking the chance to right something, no matter how risky it may be, is better than doing nothing at all. My conscience will not let me rest and I am sorry for putting the burden of such knowledge upon your shoulders. All I ask of you is not to make the same mistakes as I, and I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive our father, and live like the son he always deserved… because I am quite sure that he will be the father you've been missing._

_Second, sometime after our father's death, the Vongola will be attacked by a new rival born from an old ally – our father's family, or more correctly, what is left of it after he had died. I do not know the extent of their power, since I have never bothered to until it was too late, but we do know that they are connected to advanced weapons-development facilities and other members of the mafia underground. _

_The entire Vongola from the boss to the lowest subordinate might be put in danger. Be especially wary of times during important events in the family, such as the Tenth's inheritance ceremony, or important meetings with other families. They might choose that moment to strike._

_Because the enemy is born from our former family, I cannot help but feel responsible for everything that has happened… this was the only solution available to me, since these small events paled in comparison to the tragedy that was brought about by the Millfiore. However… well, no words can explain it properly… _

_I don't want to see her get hurt like that again._

_WHAT THE FUCK? _He thought as everything began to make sense. _…everything… it's happening all over again… or happening for the first time… whatever. _

_At least… I've finally fixed everything with Father. _He thought, letting out a sigh of relief… "Who's this 'her' he's talking about?" _Bianchi? Well… she is the only girl mentioned in here… it's gotta be her, doesn't it?_

Somehow though… Haru's face made its way into his mind… along with Cyote Nougat's warning: "A guardian is supposed to protect the family, not endanger it."

_Oh damn, I knew it. _

He examined the other side of the letter, for anything more, a clue, a clearer picture, anything. The letter was clearly rushed and unfinished. _… maybe he wrote this just moments before we arrived at the future…_

He unconsciously reached for his back pocket, taking out a box of cigarettes he hasn't used in months but always kept with him.

_The world just doesn't want me to do this anymore, doesn't it?_

He sighed as he threw the soggy cigarettes into the nearby trashcan.

* * *

::Well, yeah... there it is. Was it too cheesy?

::What's Gokudera gonna do now? What was in that present? Where the hell is Uri? wait till the next chapter to find out. for now, HAPPY HALLOWEEN. :)'

::I've been thinking of renaming this fic "The Persistence of Memory" after a painting by Salvador Dali (it's the one with the melting clocks)... but I'm not so sure... what do you guys think?

::Thanks for reading, please review.


	19. Broken

::Kingdom Hearts, Cosplay Hangover, schoolwork… and a mild shock of writer's block has stalled my update. Thanks to Kurisutiin-chan for helping me get out of it. OH YEAH, I HAVE CHANGED THE STORY TITLE.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Broken."**

They were in a dark forest, the leaves crackling under their footsteps the only noise in the eerie silence, she put her arms in front of her to shield herself from the low-lying branches. She tripped on a stone in the darkness, the silver-haired boy catching her arm just in time.

"Thank you." She muttered in embarrassed appreciation.

"Keep quiet, or you'll get us caught, _stupid woman_." He said irritably, putting more venom in the last two words than usual.

She felt a small pang in her chest at his tone, but passed it off. _It's not his fault anyway, it's mine. _She sighed in frustration, and was just about to retort about him calling her stupid for the hundredth time, when he suddenly covered her mouth with his hand, his green eyes alert, almost as if to say: _didn't I just tell you to shut up? _

She nodded in understanding, thinking it better to save her retort for a later time and resumed following him through the undergrowth. They had reached a small creek when the boy raised his hand, a sign for her to stop. They looked around, _listening, _she looked up at the sky – the moon was a bright crescent floating in the cold shadow of the cloudless, starless sky.

"We aren't lost… are we?" she spoke in an almost inaudible whisper.

"I didn't ask you to follow me in here." He answered in his own whisper streaked with annoyance.

"It's just-" she said, sadness in her eyes.

"I can't believe this… the battle's tomorrow and I have to worry about _this_." He said, shaking his head. "Let's just get back to camp." He continued walking, but stopped once he noticed she wasn't following behind him.

"I'm sorry." She said, wiping her eyes. "I just – why were you sneaking into the forest anyway?"

"It's none of your business." He replied.

"Of course it is! I'm stuck here in the future with you guys, aren't I?" she said, tears falling on the grass like fresh morning dew. "I-I know I'm not a guardian… that I'm not much use…"

"Geez, stop crying stupid woman." He said, his voice laced with awkward concern than the usual irritable annoyance. "…I was planning on finding out where the enemies are hiding… where we should set up our ambush."

"Alone?" she said through sobs.

"Well, clearly, not anymore. We should get back before something finds us." He said, taking her arm and pulling her through the forest. "Let's run."

And they did.

By the time they reached the dying fire of their campsite, the wind had already blown all her tears away.

* * *

Haru Miura opened her eyes to what was a bright and warm morning…

She saw a small rectangular box wrapped in gold gift wrap, with the still black ribbon elegantly tied around it, untouched, and unopened on her bedside drawer. _The gift from last night… I wonder what's inside it._ The sun's rays filtered delicately through the windows, filling the bedroom with light. Haru tried to recall her previous reverie.

_A battle in a forest… enemies… guardians… the future… _

Why did it all have to be a blur to her? So ephemeral, so foreign… yet there was a voice inside her, a feeling that told her that it was all real… all _hers. _

"Hahi?" she said in quiet surprise as she noticed that there was something… _or someone_… breathing beside her. She could feel the warm breath on the back of her neck, making the small hairs tingle, and her whole body stiffening up in anxiousness. She couldn't exactly tell who it was… but it smelled familiar… some sweat, expensive foreign cologne… a hint of smoke and gunpowder…

She could almost imagine the silver hair, the deep green eyes that were so good at hiding the truth, the bandage that's been on his cheek since he came back from Italy, the smile that he rarely showed through his usual smirk of arrogance or scowl of annoyance…

When had she started to notice such details? Had she always paid him that much attention? Did she always think of him in such an overlong, literary manner?

She stopped herself from thinking, and sat up to see just what it was that breathed behind her.

"Meow." The small cat looked up at her with big red eyes.

"Hahi?" Haru breathed out a sigh of relief. "Uri-chan?"

_So that's why it felt so familiar… _she mused. "What are you doing here?"

The cat purred in delight as she stroked its head. She opened the box on her bedside drawer, revealing an elegantly designed ticket for a ballet recital. "You didn't tell me he was so… _cultured._" Haru smiled at the purring cat in her arms and she headed downstairs for breakfast: omelet rice. Haru put Uri down on the table as she looked for something a cat would eat inside their fridge. She found a slice of tuna belly, and set in on a plate.

"Ohayo Haru-chan." Her mother greeted when she entered the room.

"Good morning ~desu!" she greeted cheerfully as she ate her own breakfast.

"Who's this?" her mother noticed the cat happily eating what was supposed to be today's supper.

"Uh… this is Uri-chan." She answered cautiously… she's never had a pet before… well, there was that goldfish in third grade, but never a pet she could actually touch.

"And why is Uri-chan eating our dinner on my impeccably clean kitchen counter?" her mother crossed her arms in mock criticism.

"Well… I don't know exactly." Haru mused. "He must've followed me home last night. Uri-chan is Gokudera-kun's pet. He must be so worried, wondering where Uri is."

"Maybe he meant for you to take him home." Her mother was suddenly smiling. "That way it's like he's always with you. Without your father having to clobber him to death…"

"Have you been reading romance novels again?" Haru sighed. _I don't think dad could clobber him to death even if he tried… _

"Finish your breakfast. You'll be late for school." She snapped.

Haru smirked. _So you have been reading those again._

_

* * *

_"_**Where have you been?"**_ his father asked him with a worried expression.

"_**Out."**_ He replied, clearly not in the mood to talk.

"_**Look, I know I haven't been a good father, and I am trying…"**_ the older man replied. _**"But I think I deserve a better answer." **_

"_**Fine. I went out for a walk after Giovanni and I took Haru home."**_ He said disparagingly.

"_**A walk that took you all night?"**_ his father asked in disbelief. _**"You haven't had any sleep."**_

"_**Which is why I'm here."**_ He said as he entered his room and closed the door shut.

"_**Don't you have school today?"**_ his father said, raising his voice so Hayato could hear through the bedroom door… but his son didn't give him the courtesy of a reply.

"_**Are teenagers always this hard to understand Giuseppe?"**_ he sighed and plopped down on the new sofa, his face in his hands.

"_**I wouldn't know, sir. I've never had children."**_ The tall man answered from behind the kitchen counter, where he was preparing various breads, and brewing coffee. _**"But my sister has always said it was better to just leave them alone when they do such things." **_

"_**I see."**_ The old man stood and took a seat at the small dining table. _**"I wonder if I'm doing the right thing, coming to Japan to live with my son… it's going to be such a big change… for both of us." **_

"_**Only time can tell, sir."**_ Giuseppe replied, setting down a cup of coffee on the table and straightening his tie. _**"If you excuse me sir, I have to shuttle the young Vongola to school."**_

"**Alright, after that could you come back right away? I need to have a chat with an old man in a piano shop downtown." **

"_**Of course, sir."**_

_**

* * *

**_"It's almost lunchtime, has anyone seen Gokudera?" Takeshi asked as they were dismissed from their art class.

"Guiseppe-san said he arrived home just this morning… he might not be going to school today." Tsuna said. "Maybe he slept in."

"That's not like him, though." Yamamoto mused, "He usually sleeps in class…" _Isn't he supposed to always be with Tsuna, to protect him, like he always says?_

"Maybe he isn't feeling well." Tsuna reasoned. "…do you think something's wrong?"

"He's probably just not in the mood to go to school…" Takeshi said. "…we could ask Haru."

"It's so strange that we would ask Haru, of all people, about Gokudera-kun, isn't it?" Tsuna smiled. "They've changed so much."

They both laughed. "From shouting at each other until their throats were sore…" Yamamoto recalled, "…to, well…" He sighed. "Anyway, I think I'll pass by Haru's school later, she might wonder where Gokudera is, since it doesn't seem like he's planning on showing up."

"Alright." Tsuna said, though he did get this unusual feeling… like something was going on that he wasn't supposed to find out.

* * *

"_**Good afternoon." **_The old man smiled from behind an ebony black grand piano. "It has been so long… so long since I have seen the man who had stolen the heart of my daughter."

"Almost sixteen years…" the younger man said with sad eyes, in Japanese with a heavy Italian accent. "…I have so much to apologize for."

"Trust me, when you are my age, forgiveness is much easier to give." The old man put an aged hand on his shoulder. "You do not have to apologize for giving my daughter all that I wanted for her – love, and happiness… and a son."

"I take it you've met Hayato?" he said, looking around the shop.

"Thanks to your polite subordinate." The old man said, clearly recalling the memory. "It was just a few weeks ago. He was unmistakably a Gokudera – he has her mother's hair, but your eyes."

The old man motioned for him to take a seat, and he did. "…and was accompanied by a sweet young lady."

"Ah, so he was with Haru when he met you." Gokudera's father smiled. "She is such a kind girl… though a little more upbeat than I would've expected Hayato to like."

"Yes, well… I never thought I'd end up married to a wonderful Italian woman, either. Besides, Haru is a nice girl, thoughtful too. But yes, a little – _distracted._" The old man laughed heartily. "I'm glad you instilled Hayato with some musical education…"

"He actually played the piano?" Hayato's father was in mild disbelief.

"He tried to fake not being able to." The old man replied, smiling at the memory. "…but the way his fingers moved on the keys… the way he played without looking at them… he probably doesn't want anyone finding out he had musical talent. I don't have a clue as to why though."

"Maybe it'll ruin the bad boy image he's made for himself." Gokudera's father said jokingly before turning to a more thoughtful expression, "…or maybe he wasn't comfortable with something so familiar to his childhood."

"He's had a rough past, that boy…" the old man said. "…but I may have just the thing." He smiled as he entered the shop's back door.

* * *

It was already afternoon when Hayato woke up from his dreamless sleep. He took a cold shower to wake himself up, dressed in his usual t-shirt under a long-sleeve ensemble, and put all his gear in a backpack.

"_**Are you going to pick Haru up from school today?"**_ Giovanni said, eyes still on the television.

"_**She can handle herself."**_ He answered, heading for the door.

Giovanni turned to look at him, a hint of surprise in his features. _**"So you're NOT going to pick Haru up from school today?"**_ he asked in disbelief.

"_**I'm not her bodyguard." **_He answered, his expression unreadable.

"_**You were putting up such a good act as one."**_ He replied. _**"What's wrong? Did you get dumped or something?"**_ he said, a little more lightheartedly than he had meant to.

"_**Shut up."**_ Gokudera said crossly. _**"Anyway, I'm leaving. Don't bother following me. You'll lose me anyway."**_

"_**Have you forgotten… dear Master Hayato, that I am your bodyguard?"**_ Giovanni said, sarcasm pouring from each word. _**"I have to tell you, I am very good at tailing people."**_

"_**We'll see."**_ He said, his hand already on the doorknob.

"_**You're not cheating on her, are you?"**_ Giovanni said, concern in his voice.

"_**No."**_ was his apt reply. He was out of the apartment a second later.

"_**Damn it." **_Giovanni cursed under his breath and turned off the television, taking the car keys with him.

* * *

_I told him he would lose me. _Hayato smirked as he walked as fast as he could without raising suspicion, taking another left at the intersection, walking past a dark alleyway, blending in with the pedestrians on the street, looking back once in a while to make sure no-one was following him.

He made his way onto the subway, and an hour later, was able to make his way into an abandoned industrial complex. _Perfect. _

He then sets up all his gear: the various boxes that make up his Sistema C.A.I., the flame-arrow, and even his dynamites. He lights his Vongola ring ablaze with scarlet flame… "Bring it on, yoyo-freak."

"I expect you to talk to me properly if you're going to ask me for favors." A boy wearing a white beanie straightened his glasses with his left hand, while his right was fingering a bright-red yoyo.

_I need to get stronger, to protect the Tenth, my family, the Vongola… even the stupid cow… and Haru._

The round, skeletal shields of the Sistema C.A.I. were floating all over… shielding him from the spikes and needles raining down on him.

_This is my battle, not theirs… and I have to be prepared for it. _

_

* * *

_"So he didn't go to school today?" Haru asked, a slight worry in her eyes.

"Yeah." Yamamoto said as he walked Haru home.

"Does he usually skip class?" she mused.

"Not really." They were past the commercial district already. "It's not like him."

"Uri-chan is at my house," Haru mentioned, "he must've followed me when Gokudera-kun took me home last night…"

"And he didn't notice? He didn't come back for Uri?" Takeshi's expression was serious now.

"I'm not sure if he even knows…" Haru said, her expression growing with concern. "…is-is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." Yamamoto said, they were already at Haru's house.

"I-I think we should pay him a visit." Haru invited Takeshi inside. "We could return Uri to him as well… uh, I'll be back in a second."

"Okay." He said, taking a seat.

* * *

"I'm going to take a shower…" Chikusa arrived at Kokuyo High tired and somewhat wounded – with blood dripping from his hand and his uniform soaked in blood.

Chrome looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, this isn't my blood." He said in his usual calm monotone, referring to the stain all over the front of his clothes.

"You got in a fight and didn't ask me to come along ~byon?" Ken asked, annoyance in his voice.

"You were too busy picking out snacks for Chrome…" Chikusa replied, not bothering to look at the incredulous look on Ken's face as he made his way to the nearest shower room.

* * *

"You haven't seen him since he came home this morning…" Haru mused, Uri was sleeping on her lap.

"He kept his bedroom locked. I didn't want to disturb his sleep." The man's expression was more troubled now. "He's not back yet… but I guess Giovanni is with him."

"No he isn't." Giovanni entered the room, a failed expression on his face. "He ran off on me."

"_**You don't think he-?" **_Gokudera's father had an anxious tone in his voice.

"_**He couldn't have." **_Giovanni answered. _**"He wouldn't… that would be stupid…" **_

"What are they talking about?" Yamamoto asked. Seeing as he couldn't understand Italian.

"I can understand what they're saying but… don't get it either." Haru said, absently stroking Uri's fur. But from the looks on their expressions, she knew it was something serious.

* * *

Tsuna's house...

"Get your suit ready for tomorrow, Tsuna." Reborn said as he handed him a thick stack of theater tickets.

"We're going to watch a play?" Vongola's successor asked as he read through the elegant script.

"Don't you know how to read?" Reborn jump-kicked his brown-haired pupil on the head. "It says _ballet _on the ticket."

"Okay, okay." He said, rubbing the painful spot on his head. "I guess it's gonna be another outing with _everyone_."

* * *

It's been past an hour since Haru and Yamamoto arrived at Gokudera's apartment...

"What the-?" The one they were all looking for entered the room, looking like he just went through a sandstorm – silver hair unkempt, scratches all over and bandages on his arms.

"What happened to you?" Haru stood up, Uri jumping down from her lap, taking his arm and looking it over: there were spots of red where the blood soaked through. "You're bleeding."

"It's _nothing. _I just fell on some glass, got in a fight._" _He said, pulling his arm away from her grasp. "What are you all doing here?" he eyed Yamamoto, who had a '_you're lying' _look in his eyes.

"You didn't go to school today." Takeshi answered. "…and you left Uri with Haru."

_So that's where you went, you damn cat. _"Well, if that's all… I'm going to-"

"No it isn't." Haru said with a serious expression on her face – somewhere between concern, anger, and annoyance. "There's something going on… I don't know what it is– but I do know you're hiding something from me."

Gokudera's eyes widened in horror. "I'm not-"

"You are." She said accusingly, her brown eyes piercing Hayato's green ones.

"Look, it's my life, and I can do what I want with it. It's none of your business." He snapped.

"So why is mine any of yours?" Haru asked, tears now falling from her eyes. "Why do you follow me around? What are you trying to protect me from?"

"It's not that-" he was trying to explain. _Not anymore._

"What gives you the idea that whatever I'm doing has anything to do with you anyway?" he said, his voice's volume rising. "Who said anything about protecting you?"

"Fine. I get it." Haru said, standing up straight. "I guess not telling me anything is better than _lying_ to me."

He was about to say another annoyed comeback before the look in Haru's eyes dried his throat and rendered him speechless; she looked so fragile… so _hurt. _And suddenly… he couldn't lie to her anymore, not even if it was for her own good.

_It's not like I want to… _he thought, while his hand almost involuntarily reached to stop her from turning her back on him to leave. _I'm not doing this JUST because of the tenth… I agree with him, now more than ever… _"It's better this way. There are some things better off not knowing." He muttered under his breath.

Her hand paused on the doorknob for the slightest second… "I don't think you have the right to choose what's good for me or not. How could _this_ be better?" She said, and he saw her eyes were welling up with tears that threatened to fall. "It's different – knowing nothing about something going on behind your back, and knowing nothing at all."

"I-I… look, I'm sorry okay?" he blurted out.

"For what?" she said.

"If I was fast enough… strong enough… smart enough… you never would have gotten hit by that car – you would never have gotten amnesia…" he was looking at the floor, unable to meet her eyes. He's put the blame on himself a thousand times – but this was the first time he actually apologized. "…you wouldn't be so confused right now… you would remember _everything_."

Haru's expression was unreadable; the only thing that was clear was that she wasn't expecting him to say _that_.

"Memories are nice, Haru… but that's all that they are, all they ever will be." He said, a slight sadness in his tone. "Will you stop crying now, stupid woman?"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" she was laughing a little, wiping away her tears with her hands, "I'm not stupid."

"I know." He said, the room's aura getting lighter, a small smile in his lips. "I just call you that out of habit."

* * *

:: I hope it lived up to everyone's expectations. I've got a feeling the narrative in this chapter is longer than in the others… I guess reading a book rubs off on me. I promise the plot will be moving along more in the next chapter... I wonder if anyone can guess what the hell will happen.

::Thanks for reading, please review.


	20. Sightings

::Finally, Christmas Break… hopefully all the free time will let me update faster. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to review, anonymous or otherwise... I really do appreciate all the constructive criticism. Let's get on with it, shall we?

::Woah! It's the big 2-0. This will probably be my longest fanfic to date. And also, my personal favorite.

::Oh yeah, kudos to 'hero(dot)heroine(dot)rawr' for catching that Final Fantasy X quote I put in last chapter.

::I do not own KHR.

* * *

"**.Sightings."**

_But if you never lost your memories… you never would've gotten this chance at a normal non-mafia-overrun life… you would be safe._ Now, more than ever, he understood what his Juudaime meant when he told them to keep Haru from the truth…

"I know I'm not really in the position for this… but… can I ask you a favor?" he said awkwardly, out of earshot from the others in the room.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes meeting his with concern – he was being more polite than she was used to.

"Uh… could you take care of Uri for me?" he blurted out like he didn't really want to say such a thing. "Only until father returns to Italy. He… he's kind of allergic to cats."

"He is?" she couldn't really believe it. "He seemed fine a while ago."

"It's a kind of skin allergy. He's wearing long sleeves so you can't really see it, and he's probably trying to act normal in front of you." He said.

"Oh, alright." She said, smiling as she looked at the cat, which was now perfectly happy asleep on the couch.

"I'll bring some food for him and pay for anything he destroys." He said, assuring her.

"Don't worry about it." Haru said, smiling as if she didn't cry just a few minutes earlier. "Haru will make sure he behaves."

He then changed the topic and lifted the mood by inviting everyone to stay for dinner – which Guiseppe was thankfully ready to serve. He later asked Giovanni to take Haru and Yamamoto home, and then proceeded to his room. He was sore and very tired from all the training, and was seriously not in the mood to talk – especially after telling her another lie.

* * *

He woke up the next morning… and when he went outside his bedroom door he found himself standing in what was the end of a dimly-lit corridor… the stench of gunpowder and smoke was hanging in the air, the long fluorescent lamps on the ceiling were flickering on and off... and a piano melody was ringing in his ears. It was strangely familiar, ephemeral… like he'd heard it in a dream he had long ago. He didn't know why he wanted to find out where the sound was coming from; maybe it was just curiosity, maybe the melody meant something… maybe it was leading him to a distant memory.

He walked cautiously through the door-less corridor, dodging the occasional knife, billiard ball, and explosion. He didn't find it strange that these things were coming out of thin air, and that the corridor seemed endless… ever expanding with every single one of his steps.

After what seemed like a thousand hours of walking, he found a small silver-haired boy sitting in front of a big oak double-door, his head on his knees, crying.

"What's wrong?" He asked the boy. He was taken aback and suddenly lost all his ability to speak once the boy looked up at him with teary green eyes – eyes exactly like his own.

The little boy that was him said nothing, he just wiped his eyes and pointed at the oak double-doors like they were the reason for his tears. Gokudera noticed that the music he heard was louder on the other side of the door… and then he realized.

_I know what's behind it… _he thought sadly, looking down and patting his younger self on the head before opening the oak double-doors and disappearing behind them. _…it's probably a memory of mother._

He walked out into a large grass lawn. He saw the gray clouds overhead – it was raining. When he lowered his gaze, he saw a graveyard before him. It was well maintained; the grass a beautiful green and evenly cut, the gravestones were gleaming pale white marble slabs on the grass…

He turned and saw that the oak double-doors was gone the music from before was still playing from an invisible source, and his boss and fellow Guardians were walking toward him, all of them with either a mournful or serious expression on their face, all of them in black formalwear, carrying black umbrellas to shield themselves from the rain.

He walked towards his boss to ask him what was going on… but was utterly surprised when Tsuna walked _through _him. So did everyone that was behind the tenth-generation Vongola boss-to-be.

"What the-?"

He followed them, trying to remain calm despite his confusion, and saw that they weren't the only ones there. His father was standing beside a freshly dug, empty grave with an ebony black coffin ready to be buried. Tears were flowing silently down his face as he comforted his sister, Bianchi, who was in a beautiful black lacy gown, and was crying over the coffin – Hayato suddenly realized that even though he was looking at his sister's face with nothing covering it, no usual orange-tinted goggles … there was no retching feeling in his gut that urged him to vomit. It was kind of comforting, that he had finally overcome his fear. He would've shouted and raised his hands up with joy if only he wasn't at a funeral. It was also the first time he noticed how alike their eyes were – the same shade of grayish-green, like their father's.

Then he saw Haru walking over, her face in her hands and her tears joining the rain on the grass… Yamamoto followed after her and put a consoling hand on her shoulder. Hayato suddenly had the urge to punch Takeshi in the face… but he didn't, because his hand would probably have gone through the baseball-idiot's head like he was some sort of hologram.

_Who's in the coffin anyway?_

He moved closer, and the next thing he knew… he was looking down at his own cold corpse.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" he screamed but no one paid any attention to him. He heard a tear-drenched whisper escape Haru's lips: "…this is all my fault."

He didn't find it strange that he had just attended his own burial; that he was now more concerned about Haru blaming herself for his death than finding out how he had died. _So that's why I didn't feel sick when I saw my sister's face. You didn't feel sick, you didn't need to throw up – not if you're already dead._

Even if he knew she probably wouldn't be able to hear her, he wanted to tell her that whatever it was that caused his death would be his own fault, that she shouldn't blame herself; he would've taken a bullet for anybody anyway. That was always the way it was with him, wasn't it? He never really cared about his own life, he just sort of went through it… well, until he'd met the Tenth, and learned that maybe not everyone appreciated him risking his life. He'd been more careful since that battle with the Varia – where he nearly gave up everything to get hold of half a ring… but somewhere deep inside he knew he still would've jumped in front of a bullet for someone else.

Especially for Tsuna, the first person in a long time that treated him as an equal, not just a Japanese-tainted brat who knew nothing but a few piano pieces… his family, his sister; even if they did have their misunderstandings, she would be the only sister he would ever have… and lately, there was well… her. Maybe it was because he almost saw her die when he saved her from that car, maybe it's because he still blamed himself of her amnesia, maybe because he's gotten to know her as more than the stupid ditz that was clinging on to the Tenth. He was sure of one thing though, he didn't want to see her in danger like that again.

He tried to reach out to her… but she was constantly inches away, getting farther and farther without moving, like the image on a zooming out camera lens. And everything was swallowed by darkness and the music that had been haunting him.

He woke up with a start – drenched in cold sweat. He noticed that the music from his dream hadn't stopped, and prayed that he wasn't in another dream. He felt somewhat dizzy, and a little sore. The pain in his arms was telling him that this was real. _Then where is the music coming from? And why does it sound so familiar?_

He looked at his bedside drawer and saw an old wooden box. He held it close to his ear and listened. Now he remembered: _it was the first piece mother ever taught me. _

"_**What was this doing in my room?"**_ he asked, holding the box out to his father, who turned off the TV.

"_**Good afternoon, Hayato."**_ It was Bianchi, and she was wearing her goggles. Gokudera remembered seeing his sister's bare face in that dream, but now that he was sure this was real life, he didn't really want to take the chance.

"_**Uh… hey."**_ He said in greeting. It was odd, talking to her in Italian again.

"_**An old man from a piano shop downtown told me it might help you rediscover your talents." **_His father smiled. _**"Anyway… shouldn't you be getting ready right now?"**_

"_**What for?" **_he asked, scratching his head.

"_**Your date with Haru." **_Bianchi said, an amused smile on her lips. _**"You were the one who invited her to the ballet recital at the theatre, weren't you?" **_

"_**Don't worry. Giovanni's got everything all ready. Get dressed." **_His father smiled. Hayato just gave him a look of utter disbelief.

"_**Oh, and Hayato… if you do anything to make Haru upset…"**_ Bianchi was suddenly enveloped in a dark-purple aura of smoke._** "…well, you'd better not."**_ And the aura was gone as fast as it came. Gokudera thought it wise to stop asking any more questions and went back to his room to get dressed. He'd almost forgotten how persuasive, how intimidating… how scary his sister could be.

It was only a damn ballet recital, what could go wrong? Well… he didn't know it yet... but, nearly everything.

* * *

"I'm going to watch a ballet recital mom… not to-" Haru said, exasperated as she gazed at the fiery-red too-skinny cocktail dress her mother handed her.

"You're right, it does make you look too… _eager._" She laughed. "…not on a first date… maybe on your honeymoon you could-"

"MOM." Haru said, cheeks blushing in embarrassment. "Who said this was a first date?"

"Oh, right, you've been on one before." Her mom said absently, browsing through her daughter's closet.

If the color on her cheeks could have gone any redder, they would have. "I'm not going on a date. Not-not with that _silver-haired stupid little_-!"

"Who happened to save your life and cares about you…" her mom muttered, with a 'tsk' as she started arranging her daughter's clothes into two piles.

"…who happened to save my life…" Haru said, resigned.

"Stop pretending that you hate him, Haru." Her mom said as she looked questioningly at a light blue flow-y dress and put it down on the left pile muttering 'too costume-y'. "At least he has. You always used to come home all angry and would start freaking out about something he said, something he did, or something he called you. It looks like things are changing, and so should you."

"But mom-"

"I don't know what the problem is, honey, and I don't really think I want to know… but whatever it is, I'm sure he thinks he's doing the right thing." She said. "Just trust him."

"How can I when –" the purple dress that hit her in the face stopped her mid-sentence.

"Try that one on." Her mom smiled. "If you don't like it, try everything in the pile on the right until you find something you do." She then took everything from the pile to her left (which was no small feat) and stalked out the room.

"But what are you going to do with -?"

"Donating to charity." She said. "There are some kids who could really use some new clothes."

* * *

_Whatever happened to 'I've got to stay away from her to keep her safe?' _The silver-haired bomber muttered foreign curses under his breath as Haru clutched his arm and half-dragged him around Namimori's nighttime shopping district. _I guess I'm not good at keeping promises… _

"Tell me again why we're not taking the car?" He asked, maybe more to himself.

"Because you had to be all grumpy and yell at Giovanni-san… then he got _the wrong idea._" Haru said.

"Everyone seems to be getting the same idea." He muttered. "I can't see why anyone would think that I would even-"

"You're not exactly Prince Charming, Gokudera-kun. Anyway, would it kill you to be a little more enthusiastic? You were the one who invited me here, not the other way around ~desu." she pouted as she stopped in front of her favorite cake shop.

_No I wasn't. _He thought bitterly, as once again, she managed to convince him to get inside the damn cake shop. He didn't even really like cake. It reminded him too much of Italy – where everything was pasta and pastry, no rice. "Would it kill you to be a little less enthusiastic then? It's like you're on a sugar high all the time." Once he saw the strawberry icing on the cake slice Haru picked out for herself, he was probably convinced she was.

"Haru is Haru." She said, pointing an icing-laden fork at him. "You should really be calmer, Gokudera-kun… maybe that's why Uri-chan can't stand you."

He would've wanted to say 'Hayato is Hayato' if only it didn't sound so… _Haru-like_. "… get off my case, stupid woman." He said, taking a bite off the cake Haru picked for him. _Black forest_.

"We've been over this a hundred times ~desu." She said, sighing. "Hi, I can't really say it's nice to meet you, but my name is Miura Haru."

"I can't help but call you 'stupid woman.' You prove me right every single time I'm with you." He smirked.

"I can't even tell if that was an insult or a compliment." She said.

"It's both." He said, laying down the fork on his now empty plate. "Let's get going, we might miss the showing and we can't afford to wait for the next one… It'll end pretty late and I don't know how much longer your mom's trust for me will last."

"Oh, she loves you." Haru said absentmindedly as she finished her own cake. "We could stay out all night and she'd still thank you."

"-!"

The color rose on her cheeks as she realized what she just said.

"Let's just go already." He said as he stood up to help her out of her chair.

"Hahi? Since when have you been such a gentleman?" she laughed.

"Since my father forced me to take etiquette lessons when I was six." He said matter-of-factly. "It's in my blood – I am three-fourths Italian, you know."

"Right."

* * *

They soon arrived at Namimori's only theatre hall. A big poster for the show was out front, and a short queue of finely-dressed people was already there. Gokudera was feeling a little uneasy; he'd had some bad memories in a theatre like this one… but dismissed them and tried to regain his focus. He noticed that there were a lot of people in black suits hanging around for this to be an ordinary ballet recital, but then he remembered that his father was the boss of a mafia family, and just dismissed them as other subordinates…

They were shown their seats by a young man with jet-black hair and a familiar Italian accent.

"_**What the hell are you doing here, Giovanni?" **_Gokudera whispered.

"_**Keeping an eye on you. Me and around twenty other guys." **_Giovanni glanced over his shoulder warily. _**"And some of them are probably here to kill you." **_

"_**Shouldn't we just get out of here?" **_Hayato glanced at Haru, who was thankfully oblivious as she read the recital's programme.

"_**And ruin your first real date? Nah, your father would kill me if I messed this up for you." **_He said then he pointed at the seats around them. _**"Your boss and his friends have been invited here too. This place will be crawling with the Vongola's people, and no one ever messes with them."**_

"_**Juudaime and the others are coming here?" **_he asked, surprised.

"_**I guess that kind of ruins the whole romantic vibe here… but your father wanted to give your boss a good impression." **_

"_**Will you stop it with the whole set-up. Haru is-"**_

"_**-really important to you. We already know that. We're just… you know… helping you along."**_

"_**I never asked for any help."**_

"_**You sure look like you need it. You know that tall dude that's always with you carrying a bamboo stick thing is-"**_

"_**Shut up and just go to your post or patrol the perimeters or something."**_

"_**Your wish is my command, master."**_ Giovanni smiled and went on his way.

"What was that about, Gokudera-kun?" Haru asked as he finally took his seat to her right.

"Nothing." He replied. "Uh… look, it's Juu-I mean, Tsuna-san."

"Hahi?" Haru looked to her left and saw them all standing there – Tsuna and the others, all in their semi-formals.

"Haru!" Lambo, who was wearing his extra-extra-extra small suit jumped onto Haru's lap.

"It's nice to see you too, Lambo-kun." She said, smiling.

"I didn't know you guys even came to well… things like this." Gokudera said to Yamamoto, who had that easygoing grin on his face again.

"Tsuna said Reborn told him it was all part of… you know… getting used to being _what we are." _He whispered, making sure Haru wouldn't hear.

"Well, you guys do need some help with proper manners." He said in a matter-of-factly kind of way, like he was the only one trained enough in that field – well, he probably was, but he didn't show it much. "Important people like the Tenth usually get invited to events like these."

"You look so pretty, Kyoko-chan!" Haru greeted her friend, who, Hayato noticed, had her hand in Tsuna's. _Way to go, Juudaime. _He thought, then he looked at Haru for some sign of hurt; and it was clear as day – that smile on her face was genuine, not some façade she'd conjured up to hide her sadness. Maybe her amnesia wasn't really so bad… at least she wouldn't be crying like she was that night – during the school dance, though some small voice inside him thought that he was a little too happy about that.

"It's starting." He said, looking at the slowly opening velveteen curtains. "We better get seated."

And they were, though since there was so many of them, no one got to sit in the seat assigned to them, Lambo wanted to have the seat at the end of the row, and by some twist of fate, Gokudera was forced to sit beside the stupid cow. Beside him was Haru, and beside her, earning a bit of annoyance from the silver-haired storm guardian – was Yamamoto.

"Vivaldi." He muttered under his breath as the orchestra began to play and the lights dimmed.

"Haru thought you weren't a fan of classical music." Haru said in her own hushed tone.

"You don't have to be a fan to recognize this one… even the stupid cow knows The Four Seasons." He said, gesturing at Lambo, who surprisingly, was paying attention to the stage.

"_**Le quattro stagioni..." **_Lambo said, wide-eyed like the music reminded him of soft grass and the scent of home-made sweets.

"Haru forgot." She said, amused. "Lambo-kun is also Italian."

_You've forgotten a lot of things._ He thought.

What they didn't know, however, was that the first movement of The Four Seasons would be the introduction to the biggest trial their Family would have to overcome since the battle in the future.

* * *

::Couldn't help myself. I left a cliffhanger for Christmas. Well it's only a couple of hours away here where I am so, Happy Holidays guys.

::This chapter really took a lot of work for me. A lot of re-writes. My narrative seems to have gotten a lot longer... oh, and I'm sorry if it got a bit too cheezy; it must be the Christmas fuzzies. I promise some real action in the next chapter.

::I can't believe this fic has reached it's one-year anniversary. Thanks to everyone who's still got the patience to stick with my story.

::Thanks for reading. Please review.


	21. Crescendo

::I'm sorry it took a while. Schoolwork and a stomach virus stalled my creative activity. I did, however, manage to pass the most important entrance exam of my life, and then one night I was hit by a huge thunderbolt of inspiration – I now know exactly where this story is headed, and how it's gonna get there.

::This chapter contains extra large helpings of cheese with a bit of jealousy on the side: you have been warned.

::The usual disclaimer goes here.

* * *

"**.Crescendo."**

"_**I know you mean well, father… but don't you think this is all happening a bit too soon?"**_ Bianchi said. _**"Hayato is only sixteen and maybe he… he wouldn't appreciate all this… help."**_

"_**Amore is amore…"**_ her father muttered, with a small smile on his lips. _**"However, you might be right. Maybe I am being too involved… oh well, you can't blame an old man for wanting to see his grandchildren's smiling faces." **_

Bianchi smiled sympathetically. _**"I know you mean well, father. But I think Hayato should handle this on his own. Love is not something that someone else can force upon you. He needs to find it and be aware of it by himself."**_

"_**Ah well… a few more years of waiting can't be too bad." **_He chuckled. _**"Miss Miura would make a fine addition to the family – maybe after she has matured a bit." **_

"_**I'm sure she would." **_Bianchi said. _**"But father-"**_

"_**Yes, yes. I understand. No more playing matchmaker for your brother, although I was looking forward to meeting the young lady's parents." **_He then turned to her with a knowing look. _**"But what about you, dear? You've grown into a fine woman already… and I hear that the current boss of the Chiavorone is young and very compassionate, one of the most eligible bachelors in the present mafia. Are you sure-"**_

"_**Father." **_Bianchi sighed and gave the man a stern look.

"_**Alright, alright. I give up." **_He said, smiling.

* * *

"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik…" Haru muttered under her breath as the orchestra began the next piece. "Haru grew up listening to this as a kid, her dad loves Mozart's work." She smiled as the ballerinas gracefully glided across the stage in an effortless transition of beauty, the music weaving a delicate, intricate web of strings to which each dancer was a puppet.

_I remember practicing this one a long time ago… _Gokudera thought. He then looked around – the stupid cow next to him was staring blankly at the stage, probably amazed by all the movements and pretty colors. Yamamoto looked amused but he didn't really look like he understood what was going on. Behind them was Tsuna, who had a smile of pure contentment plastered onto his face as he looked at the wonder in Kyoko's face as she watched, while Ryohei was already half-asleep. _…Chrome, Hibari and Reborn-san aren't here. And where the hell is Basil? _He looked at the crowd and noticed a few vaguely familiar faces – probably some of his father's subordinates, and then Giovanni, just a few seats away from them. He came to the conclusion that Basil was probably watching from the outside and keeping himself hidden. Then he looked beside him. Haru was smiling – the joy was sparkling in her eyes. He turned away quickly, stopped himself from thinking, and hastily turned his attention back to the stage.

The recital was already about halfway through when the unexpected happened.

Just as the first few ominous opening notes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 started to open the next number… the lights turned off and the theatre was in frenzied panic – well, as much as well-dressed, highly-cultured Japanese elites could erupt in chaos: meaning most of them just dismissed it as a disappointing technical difficulty.

Gokudera, having been raised in the mafia, knew better, somewhere in the shadows, he could hear hurried footsteps and alarmed breaths. He instinctively grabbed the stupid cow from his seat: this wasn't the time to take any chances, though he seemed to have forgotten that if there was anyone here that would be in the most danger, it would be him or the Tenth. "L-lambo-sama isn't afraid of the d-dark!" Lambo stifled a cry as Gokudera put a hand over the Bovino's mouth to quiet him. "Shut it, stupid cow." He hissed.

He strained in the dark and calmed down a little when he felt his left arm brush Haru's – she was still there, still breathing. "What's wrong?" Haru spoke in a whisper. "Keep it down, Haru." _You don't want to give them an easier time of finding the Vongola here. _

He couldn't understand, and he was both scared and surprised at himself for it - for the first time in his life, he was more worried for the stupid woman's safety than for his Juudaime's. The thought sent a strange sensation through him, like a jolt of sudden realization, but that didn't prevent his mind from making up an appropriate and rational excuse: the Tenth would have been perfectly capable of defending himself, whereas the stupid cow and Haru wouldn't. Not if they would be taken in the dark with no clue as to what was going on.

What he couldn't find any excuse for, no matter how he tried, was the short-lived but sudden urge to shove a stick of dynamite down Yamamoto's throat when the lights flickered back on – the tenth-generation Vongola Rain Guardian was clutching Haru's arm, looking alert and serious. Somehow, Hayato was sure they were thinking of the exact same thing: her safety. Yamamoto let go as soon as the lights went back on, but Hayato already saw it, and he knew.

He pushed the thoughts to the far reaches of his mind and regained his usual focus. A group of men in black suits, Giovanni among them, formed a defensive circle around them. Hayato recognized Fran, the Varia-member-from-the-future turned his-father's-subordinate, on the stage, which explained the audience's blissful trancelike and tranquil state, and he heard hurried footsteps echoing in the background.

Giovanni raised his sniper rifle and aimed at an upper-floor corridor, where the footsteps were coming from. A sickening_ thud_ was heard as the footsteps came to a halt.

Hayato then noticed two things: one, that Haru and Lambo were also put under the Mist's illusion, staring blankly into space, oblivious of the sudden chaos. And two, that Sasagawa Kyoko's seat was empty. Then, an injured and heaving Basil slumped into the theatre hall, bleeding onto the velvet carpet. "S-Sasagawa-dono…" he coughed out blood. "…hath been taken. I wasn't able to-" his eyes closed and he fell from consciousness. Some of Giovanni's men rushed to treat him.

Hayato could've sworn his boss had just switched to Hyper Dying-will Mode without the help of a special bullet or his Dying-will pills. Tsuna turned to Giovanni and his men with a piercing, fiery orange gaze and a voice that was seldom his own: "Who did this?"

The tenth's flame was ablaze on his X-gloves, and he was up at the corridor where the footsteps were heard in a flash. The other guardians followed after him. All of them were shocked and worried – Tsuna's never been this _angry _before. He clutched at the dying man and raised him with one flame-coated hand. "Where are they taking her?"

The man was distraught and delirious, heaving, and yet… a laugh, a shrill, cruel laugh escaped his mouth. "You Vongola brats don't even know what you're up against."

"Tell me where she is!" Tsuna demanded. Gokudera and the others were stunned and just looked on in awe and surprise.

"When this is all over you'll wish you were never born a Vongola." The man said darkly as his voice weakened and faded. "A traitor is upon you… and you don't even have a clue-!" the man choked on his own laughter as his life came to an end and was extinguished along with Tsuna's flame and the man's body crumpled to the ground, motionless.

"Juudaime!" Gokudera kneeled down beside his boss. "Are you-?" the look in his boss's eyes stopped him mid-sentence. They weren't filled with the strange orange glow they were a moment ago, but they held the same fierce emotion.

"We have to find Kyoko-chan... I-I didn't know that - I wasn't able to… she said she would just go to the restrooms… I-I should've-" Tsuna said in his normal voice as Gokudera helped him stand up. "I-I need to talk to Reborn."

* * *

A few hours later…

Tsuna asked Takeshi and Hayato to take Haru home, while he, the now sleeping Lambo, and Ryohei went home to tell Reborn what had happened and to figure out what to do next. Their senpai looked deeply agitated, but he was strangely silent – maybe he could tell that Tsuna was really taking this seriously. Gokudera also asked Giovanni to take Basil to the hospital and asked him to tell Shamal to check on him.

"The recital was amazing!" Haru said happily as she led the way in front of the two guardians, with completely no idea as to what had just transpired.

_Fran must've put on an impressive illusion. _"Uh… yeah… the orchestra was good." He commented.

"Hahi?" Haru looked behind her. "What's wrong Gokudera-kun?" she said as she walked back to them and looked up at him. "You look… stressed."

"It's - it's nothing." He replied, trying to sound as happy as possible. Her frustrated pout told him she saw through his farce – like she so often did.

"I know just the thing!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his arm and tugged him along behind her. Hayato suddenly felt like smirking – but the desire instantly faded as Haru clutched Yamamoto's arm and guided him along as well. "You should come too, Yamamoto-san." The baseball-idiot chuckled a little and scratched the back of his head in confusion, but followed just the same.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, they found themselves in a small tree-lined clearing, where the sun's rays peeked through the boughs of leaves on the trees above, casting dancing shadows on everything below.

"This was one of Haru's favorite places to calm down." She smiled as she slumped down on the grass and looked up at the patch of sky through the trees without a care in the world – or any for the classy purple dress she was now laying on.

"I got lost here after baseball practice once." Yamamoto gave one of his usual chuckles.

Gokudera stood a few paces away and studied the scene. Well, he had always been suspicious that Yamamoto did have feelings for Haru… but why did he suddenly care so much? Wasn't the baseball-idiot the one with her that day, before the accident? What if something was going on between them? What if her amnesia just caused her to forget about the baseball-idiot just as easily as her forgetting her affection for the Tenth?

There was a strange mixture of joy and guilt that tugged at him – like he'd seen something forbidden, he'd done something wrong, and he'd stolen something. _No, no I didn't. What the hell. Fuck, this isn't the time to be thinking about this._

"You're spacing out again, Gokudera-kun." Haru said, half-dragging him into the clearing. "There is an easier way, you know. You could just tell me what's bothering you."

"You wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway, stupid-woman." Gokudera said with a frustrated sigh.

"Fine, Haru gives up. Cheer yourself up, then." She said, brushing the dirt off her dress and stalking out the clearing, arms crossed and chin up.

"Well, that went well." Gokudera said sarcastically to himself.

"You should give her some credit. Most people wouldn't even try." Yamamoto commented. "I'm surprised you're not worrying after Tsuna at a time like this."

"He ordered me to take Haru home." Gokudera said matter-off-faclty.

Yamamoto laughed. "Oh come on, admit it already. We all know you like Haru!"

"I am the Tenth's right-hand man above anything else." He said.

"You don't know how lucky you are." Takeshi said, his expression turning serious.

"You're wrong." Gokudera said. "That's why… I want you to… to take care of her."

"Isn't that supposed to be your job now?"

"I-I have to do something." He said, not meeting his fellow guardian's eyes. "It's me they want killed… it's my fault Sasagawa's been kidnapped. A right-hand man can't just sit on the sidelines while the family's being threatened – especially if I have the solution… I am the solution."

"So you're going to play hero and get yourself killed." Takeshi said.

"Wouldn't that make everything work out for you?" he snapped. The image of Yamamoto's hand on Haru's shoulder, just like it was in his dream flashed across his mind – interrupted by the impact of Takeshi's fist on his face.

"A bastard like you doesn't deserve someone like her." He said, helping the Storm Guardian up after punching him in the face. "But I can't just let you get yourself killed. We're all part of the Vongola here, so whatever it is you're planning to do, you better tell us. Isn't the right-hand man supposed to be the one leading the other guardians? Some leader you are, trying to do everything on your own… again."

"Fine, baseball-idiot. But you guys better not mess this up." A small hint of a smile showed on his face.

"You better not make Haru cry again." Yamamoto said, smiling despite his threat. "You can't die yet. I want to beat you fair and square."

"We'll see about that." Gokudera said and they both made their way out of the clearing.

"Well it took you guys long enough!" Haru said as she stood from the bench on the bus stop just outside the forested clearing. "You all better now?"

"He just needed some sense knocked into him." Takeshi chuckled.

"Hahi? Did you guys get in a fight?" Haru looked at the bruise forming on Gokudera's face.

"No, because he never would've stood a chance." Hayato smirked.

Haru just smiled contentedly and sighed. _Boys will be boys._

* * *

Sasagawa Kyoko was sure her eyes were open – but she could see only darkness, and hear the soft hum of an expensive car's engine, and an irritated man's voice speaking in a foreign language she couldn't understand.

"_**Damn them… out of all those Vongola brats, all we can manage to get is one little girl who doesn't even seem to know anything." **_

She could feel the bonds that tied her wrists and ankles, and the duct tape over her mouth and the cloth that covered her eyes. _Oh god. _She's always known there would be constant danger when your brother and his friends were part of the mafia – it's just that she thought they'd always be with her and they'd go through it all together… now she was alone with no way of escape.

But she wouldn't let that stop her from trying.

* * *

Later, as they finally reached Haru's house after a slightly less awkward but just as silent walk…

"Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" Haru offered as they reached her house.

"We can't. We promised Tsuna we'd be at his place." Takeshi explained as he left out the gate.

"Oh, alright." Haru said. Then Gokudera suddenly found himself in a position that utterly surprised him.

"Wait, Gokudera-kun." She took his hand before he could turn to follow Yamamoto out the gate. She gave him a hug. "Haru had a great time… well, mostly." She said as she pulled away and smiled. "_**Grazie.**_"

He could almost feel the blood rushing to his face, and he tried to hide that idiotic smile that was making its way there too. "Uh… yeah… sure."

"You're supposed to say 'do itashimashite, Haru'." She mock-pouted, then her expression turned slightly more somber. "Promise me you'll take care of yourself?"

He wished she'd stop doing that. It was so hard to try risking your life when you've promised to stay alive. Especially not after you've just lied about the very same thing – not on the night before you planned to give yourself up in exchange for someone else.

"I don't make promises I can't keep." He muttered as he began to turn away.

_Why does it sound like he's saying goodbye?_

"Then just promise me you'll be more careful." She said. "There's something bad going on… I don't know what it is… maybe I'm afraid of finding out… but I want everyone to be safe and happy… and then everything can go back to normal…"

_Stop it. _Because if she doesn't, he might just break. It was taking all his willpower just to stick with his plan – where he was both the scapegoat and sacrificial lamb. _A guardian exists to protect the family… I am the Tenth's right hand, above anything else._

"Goodnight, Haru."

* * *

::Okay, now THIS is probably my cheesiest chapter ever. Well, we won't be seeing too much of that in a while after this, so I guess… well… yeah. After all those hints in the past twenty chapters, I'm sure you all saw the whole thing with Yamamoto coming.

::What the heck is Gokudera gonna try to do? What's gonna happen to Kyoko? Why'd they kidnap her anyway? How is Haru gonna fit into all this? Isn't she supposed to be the one who gets kidnapped so Hayato can go and rescue her?... Well, you'll find out after my personal beta reader does. I hope it's not as predictable as I think it looks.

::Thanks for reading! Please review.


	22. Stornelli

::Well, here's another one for you guys. I hope it meets your expectations.

::_Thoughts are in Italic_. _**Bold italics are said in Italian**_.

::Insert disclaimer here.

* * *

"**.S****tornelli****."**

"What is it they're not telling me?" Haru stifled a sob as she changed out of her dress and into her pajamas. "You would tell me if you could talk, wouldn't you, Uri-chan?"

The storm-flame cat just purred at her and circled around her feet as if trying to comfort her.

"You're such a sweet little cat." She said as she held Uri in her arms and carried him to her bed. "…nothing like your hot-tempered owner." She found a small smile tug at her lips. "Why is he leaving you with me? What do you think he's going to do?"

_I don't make promises I can't keep._

He had said it with such sadness and finality, like he was already regretting something he hasn't even done. "You don't think he's going to do something… dangerous, do you?"

The cat stared at her for a moment with his big red eyes as if he understood, like it was telling her 'he's doing what he thinks is right.' Then he jumped down from the bed and sat on her desk, looking out the window as if he was anxiously waiting for something.

Haru sighed, a single tear flowed down her cheek, and she pulled up the covers and closed her eyes.

* * *

Gokudera muttered curses in Italian as he sat atop his apartment's roof, letting another paper plane fly loose. _Damn it. This isn't the time to have second thoughts. _He let his thoughts drift away for a moment while his eyes grew accustomed to the Sistema C.A.I. contacts he hasn't used since coming home from the future. The lenses zero in on the paper plane, its trajectory computed in seconds, the little numbers constantly changing to give the target's location. "Tch." And he flicks a mini-bomb unenthusiastically at the paper plane and it explodes into a miniature inferno, its ashes fell to the earth almost in slow motion, and the smoke and gunpowder filled the bomber's lungs.

He was about to release another paper plane, but noticed that his hands were shaking… _fuck. _He crumpled up the paper in his fist and threw it as far away as he could. Then he hung from the roof's edge and made his way inside his apartment through the living room window.

He then noticed something that wasn't there the last time he checked – there was a Yamaha standing piano against the right wall of the room. He sighed and sat down, opened the key's cover carefully, and experimentally let his fingers run through the keys. His lenses gave him some amount of night-vision, but he didn't need them. He could play this piece with his eyes closed – all he needed was his heart open. _Well, if this is gonna be the last night of my pathetic life… _He closed his eyes, and let his memories guide him to the melody.

* * *

Earlier, at Tsuna's house…

"I won't forgive you if my sister gets hurt, Sawada." Ryohei said, with the most serious expression they've ever seen from him.

"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself, either." The Tenth Vongola boss-to-be muttered anxiously as they all sat in the living room, waiting for the Cloud and Mist guardians to arrive.

"This isn't the time to be blaming each other." Reborn said darkly, sitting on Yamamoto's shoulder. "Neither is it the time to be blaming yourself." He addressed Hayato by looking his way.

"Reborn-san…" he said, but was unable to think of any reply.

"I want to talk to your father. If you really think your family has something to do with this, then he might know something that could help us." The Arcobaleno said with authority.

"I've asked Dr. Shamal to go here with him." Hayato replied. "He should be here after seeing Basil at the hospital."

"Maybe Basil could tell us who took Kyoko." Yamamoto suggested. "We should go see him when he's better."

"What happened, boss?" Chrome said as she entered the room, Chikusa and Ken flanking her. "We're only doing this to repay our favors ~byon." The blonde retorted. The spectacled yoyo-user and Hayato exchanged a silent look of understanding.

"Thank you for coming, Chrome-chan." Tsuna said politely, and he began recounting the events that had happened earlier.

Minutes passed and Dr. Shamal finally arrived with Bianchi, her father, and Guiseppe.

"The boy's fine. He's still unconscious, but he'll be alright. That rain-attribute of his lessened some of the damage." Shamal said in a semi-annoyed voice as he took a seat at the farther end of the room. "Oh, and the brat with the bird's outside the door. He didn't seem to have any plans to go in."

"I hoped we would meet under a better circumstance, Vongola Decimo." Gokudera's father said with a heavy Italian accent. "I would've wanted to invite your family to have dinner and thank you properly for treating my son and daughter so well, but it seems fate is not smiling upon us."

"Y-yes sir." Tsuna replied awkwardly. There was just something about Gokudera's father – an air of wisdom, of experience, of authority… and there was also a sort of tiredness, like he's seen too much and doesn't wish to see any more. It also kind of reminded him of his Storm Guardian's twenty-five year old self, like there was a lingering regret in the eyes they shared. He wondered for a moment if he would have the same aura to him after he spends years as the Vongola's boss.

"I assure you, I will do everything in my power to help the Vongola." The older man said, sighing. "Though I am afraid it is also my fault. I shouldn't have invited you all to a theatre show knowing the danger lurking even within my own family."

"It's not your fault, Father." Bianchi said. "Neither is it yours, Hayato." She gave her brother a stern look. "Why do all the men in our family have a perpetual need to take all the blame upon themselves?"

"Regardless, we should start moving. Things have escalated to the point that mediocre vigilance and intelligence gathering is insufficient." Gokudera's father said.

"I agree." Reborn replied. "We need a plan. Call Fuuta in."

"But Reborn, Fuuta is-" Tsuna tried to intervene.

"A child born and raised in the mafia, with the most skill to help us right now." Reborn snapped.

"It's alright, Tsuna-nii. There are worse things to see." Fuuta said, and he sounded millennia older when he did. Tsuna realized that Fuuta was probably not as innocent as he would like to believe.

Suddenly, Fuuta looks upward to the heavens and his expression becomes distant, detached… the gravity in the room lowers, and in the already cramped room, people try to keep their composure despite floating in the air.

"Would you stop wearing such short skirts ~byon?" Ken scolded Chrome as he glared daggers at Shamal. Chrome was going red.

"Get your damn foot out of my face lawn-head!" Gokudera snapped.

"I extremely can't control where I'm going!" Ryohei retorted.

Giuseppe was trying to push people who got too close to his boss's 2-foot radius of personal space gently away. Yamamoto was watching everyone with an amused smile on his face. Like seeing a whole room of floating Mafiosi was funny. Well, it probably was.

Tsuna just sighed and opened Fuuta's ranking book in front of him. A moment later, gravity returned and everything and everyone came crashing down.

"Get off me, stupid Chrome!" Ken said as he pushed her off – everyone saw he tried to make it look harsher than it was.

"G-gomen." She muttered.

Chikusa adjusted his glasses. Everyone stood up and assumed their original positions.

"On the top of the list of families most likely to kidnap Kyoko-chan…" Fuuta dictated as he wrote on the Ranking Book. "…Goku-nii's family."

"But we already knew that." Hayato said.

"Second… the Estraneo Famiglia." Fuuta said.

Ken looked horrified. Chikusa adjusted his glasses like he understood.

"Mukuro-sama destroyed the whole family a long time ago ~byon!" Ken said like anything Mokuro did was absolute.

"The Estraneo Famiglia, like ours, is -was- a family highly specialized in weapons development. I recall they were prosecuted for creating the Possesion Bullet?"

"It used to be our… family. If you could call it even that." Chikusa said grimly. "Mukuro-sama, Ken, and I were supposed to be its final three survivors."

"Well it looks like there are more." Reborn said ominously. "But why take Kyoko?"

"She's the perfect hostage." Shamal suggested. "No combat ability, but important enough to the Vongola, at least to you, Sawada and Sasagawa, for us to care about her safety. It's not like they're going to get any important information from her."

"Are you saying that the defectors from my family are working with the Estraneo against the Vongola?" Gokudera's father said. "They don't stand a chance against the most powerful mafia famiglia."

"They wouldn't be doing this if destroying the Vongola was their goal. It's too simple." Hayato said. "It must be something else."

"They could be trying to work together to create some kind of powerful new weapon." Tsuna said. "And they took Kyoko as insurance, so we won't bother them."

"You're using your brain. Good work, dame-Tsuna." Reborn smiled a little. "That's what I think too."

"Giuseppe, what project was the lab primarily working on before the manor got attacked?" Gokudera's father asked his right-hand.

The Italian subordinate pulled a small electronic PDA-like gadget from his pocket. "Uhm… miniature storage boxes that bend space… various forms of transportation that run on dying-will flames… and…" his face paled a little.

"What is it?" Gokudera and his father said in impatient unison.

"…a device that alters memories."

"You don't think-" Gokudera said.

"It could be some sort of coincidence." Yamamoto said, trying to keep up his easygoing attitude. But he knew, and so did everyone else, that there was no such thing as a coincidence when it came to the mafia.

"It hasn't gone far along to work properly yet." Guiseppe said as he read off the report. "The project was supposed to work like a mist-illusion, creating something that seemed so real, you would believe it was true while it replaced some of your real memory."

"Ah, I remember." Gokudera's father said. "It's the reason for recruiting young Francesco. He seemed to have a strong affinity for creating such… realistic… illusions."

"So they did the 'taking away memories' part to Haru." Hayato said. "But why?"

"The Estraneo weren't above using humans as test subjects." Chikusa said. "We're all just guinea pigs to them."

"But changing memories doesn't seem extreme…" Ryohei said.

"How'd you like it if you thought you were captain of the synchronized swim team instead of the boxing club?" Yamamoto said.

Ryohei kept quiet after that.

"So we've got speculations, theories, and rankings. No plan." Reborn said. "Fuuta, any suggestions?"

"I-I think we need to think of Kyoko-nee's safety first. We need to get her out of there soon." He said.

"Where exactly is 'there'?" Tsuna asked. "Do we already know where their hideout is?"

Everyone looked at Fuuta. "Underground base on Death Mountain." He said simply.

"Then why don't we all just get together and attack to the extreme?" Ryohei demanded.

"My family has lost a lot of our numbers, and morale is low. I doubt we'd be much help in an attack, especially against what used to be our own men." Hayato's father said.

"We can't risk war against what were the top-two weapon developers of the mafia world over a girl." Giuseppe said. "Imagine what kind of horrors the Estraneo could've come up with in the years they've kept themselves hidden. We could be walking right into a deathtrap."

"The battle of Troy started because they kidnapped a princess." Shamal said.

"That lasted for years, and both sides suffered heavy losses." Bianchi said.

"I have an idea." Gokudera said. _Well, it's gonna feel easier on my conscience if I made it official. _"We do a hostage-exchange."

"And you're going to exchange yourself for Kyoko." Yamamoto said. "It's been your plan all along, and you're still planning to go through with it."

"I'm both a member of the Vongola and my father's family. I don't really care what happens to me, and I can assure you I won't give away any secrets even if they drop me in a vat of slow-corroding acid." He said. "I'd kill myself before betraying either of my families."

"That's why you're not supposed to be the hostage." Bianchi said. "If it has to be a member of both families, it should be me."

"I won't allow it." Their father said. "Not on either of you."

"It's not the time to be all concerned, Father." Gokudera said. "Like I said before, this is my life. I do what I want with it."

"I won't allow you to do it, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna said. "Both as future boss, and as your friend."

Gokudera looked like he was going to back down… for a second. He took a deep breath. "Then how do you expect us to get Sasagawa's sister out of there alive? Who knows what experiments they could be doing to her? It's not like I'm going in there to get myself locked in some cell or treated as a test subject. I've got a plan."

"Would you let us in on it before we let you go to your doom?" Yamamoto said.

By the end of the discussion, almost everyone agreed he was the only one who could do it. And, more than Gokudera could ever hope for – they all believed it would work, which was more than he did himself.

* * *

He stopped playing when he saw the hints of sunrise from the window. He took a quick shower and dressed in his favorite casuals, loaded his weapons, armed himself and was about to leave when a thought tugged at him – should he at least say goodbye to his father before offering himself up and possibly dying?

_No. He'll just know I'm going to do something and try to stop me._ He just wished his father would understand; that this was a decision he really thought about and he was determined to see it through. And he hoped the old man would forgive him for it. _It was a nice few weeks, being your son again, Father._ He thought as he gave his last look at the door to his father's room and left his apartment.

He didn't know his father heard every note he played and every step he took before reaching that door. It took every single fiber of his father's resolve to prevent himself from stopping his son. He had to trust in him, believe in him. He was like him in many ways, but he knew Hayato inherited that inner strength, that eternal will to hold on, from his mother. He hoped he wouldn't lose him again – he promised as much.

Hayato was already on his way to meet up when he suddenly remembered something. Uri. Uri was with Haru – all according to plan. His father wasn't really allergic to cats, and Uri wasn't even a real cat, he was a box weapon, and he gave him to Haru so he could watch over her.

He passed by a store near Haru's house to get the cat his favorite food. Well, the storm box weapon has saved his life more than once, and even if it scratched the hell out of his face, Uri was still his partner – and he would have to keep Haru safe. Gokudera didn't know if Uri could maintain his form after he dies, since a box weapon's life is linked to its owner's flames, but Hayato felt a little better that there was someone watching over Haru for him.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun!" Haru's mother greeted when she saw him pass by while she was tending her garden. "Would you like me to wake Haru up?"

"No, it's alright, I just forgot to give this to Haru. I'm really sorry for the trouble… it's just… my father and-" he explained as he handed her the food.

"It's no problem. But I'm sure it would be better if you give these to Haru in person, so she'd know when to feed Uri and how much to feed him." Her mother said. "I can handle any garden just fine… but I'm not really good at taking care of animals."

"Uri just eats whenever he's hungry, so there's no problem of feeding him too much." Hayato said. _He doesn't even really need to eat – it's my storm flame that keeps him enduring._ "Thank you so much… and please tell Haru-" _tell her what? It's her mother you're talking to._

"Tell her…" _what?_

"I'll tell her you passed by to give her this, but didn't want to disturb her sleep." Haru's mother said with a knowing smile. "I think I'll tell her to wait for you so you can tell her yourself."

Gokudera gave a small sigh of relief and smiled a little. _Did all mothers naturally come equipped with such good intuition?_ "Thank you Mrs. Miura… and please give Haru my thanks also."

_Give her my thanks and tell her I'm sorry… _Gokudera took one last look at Haru's bedroom window before turning to leave: Uri was sitting on the windowsill and gave him a piercing glare – it then raised one of its front paws and extended his claws, like it was threatening him, as if to say 'this better work, or else.' And he gave a short nod of understanding.

"Sure, Gokudera-kun. I will. Take care." Haru's mother waved as he left.

* * *

He hoped that wouldn't be the last time he would see Haru's mom. He hoped that Murphy's Law would stop working, even just for today, because if it doesn't… he wouldn't be here tomorrow. He couldn't help himself from thinking: _If there's a way to take away Haru's memories, then it should be just as easy to put them back. _

From what Haru told him, her memories were coming back, and he saw it too – she was a lot more like herself now than she was a day after the accident. But he knew with absolute certainty, that he hoped she would forgive him for being such a liar when her memories return. If he did die - and he seriously considered the possibility - he wanted to die and be remembered as the Gokudera he was now. He wanted her to see him as the guy she argued pettily with every day, the one who walked her to and back from school, who saved her life because he actually cared, who she helped get over the past that used to haunt him daily... not just one of Tsuna's weird friends, not the hot-headed one who often berated her, not the liar.

There was also this tiny voice at the back of his mind that hoped she wouldn't return to being the Tenth's annoying fangirl/stalker, or whatever she was to Yamamoto… but he brushed it off as he saw Chikusa, Yamamoto and Shamal waiting for him.

"Well, this is it." Shamal said. "I get to see my former student trying to throw his life away again. Haven't I taught you anything?"

"Trident Shamal, who infected himself with thousands of diseases voluntarily." Gokudera stated. "You're one to talk."

"I guess it's also my fault that I taught you about explosives." The man stated.

"Well, if we're escorting you to your possible death, there's no point standing around to chat." Chikusa said. "I'll tell you everything I remember about the Estraneo on the way."

"Chrome's gonna try and contact Mukuro and tune us in if they find out anything." Yamamoto said, checking his earpiece.

"Well, we better get going." Gokudera said. And they did, though he did have this weird feeling that someone was following them.

* * *

::So, how much have I let slip so far? I bet I've made Gokudera's real plan kinda obvious… I guess we'll find out soon enough. Do you guys think he's thinking too much about Haru... or is it normal for someone who's... whatever he is? I honestly don't know anything about that stuff.

::I really hope you aren't thinking: 'oh, the author just came up with a random scenario' because I did put some research and thinking into it. There have been teeny hints scattered around the past chapters.

::Oh, and since my schedule has been getting more relaxed, (we're finally a few weeks away from graduation and I'm 100% confirmed which university I'm enrolling in) and I feel really guilty about not being able to thank all you wonderful reviewers out there, I'm gonna start replying to every review I can, starting with this chapter. You guys deserve it.

::Anyway, thanks for reading, please review.


	23. Trapped

::I'm really, really sorry this took so long… my computer got reformatted so I lost the original of this chapter (which was more than halfway done!), preparing for and attending a three-day cosplay event, Final Fantasy Dissidia: Duodecim, and graduation also stalled this chapter. I hope it still meets your expectations.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Trapped."**

"I can't just stay here while everyone's trying their best and risking their lives out there!" Tsuna said in frustration as he paced around his living room, earning varied glances from Reborn, Guiseppe, Bianchi, and her Father.

"Don't you realize that going out there might be exactly what they want you to do?" Bianchi stated. "If only you knew all the trouble your father and the Vongola go through every day just to make sure you stay alive."

"You didn't really think Namimori was a safe haven for you, did you?" Shamal asked rhetorically. "You're the future boss of the strongest Mafia Famiglia, and we're all here to make sure you survive long enough to earn the title."

_I never asked for this._ Tsuna wanted to say, but he knew it would never have made any difference.

"Don't worry too much, Tsuna." Yamamoto's voice was heard on all headsets.

"Just leave it to us, Juudaime." Hayato added.

"Something's still bothering me though…" Tsuna muttered. "The man at the theatre, he said something about a traitor, didn't he?"

A heavy silence settled on the room and on everyone wired to it.

"But I don't want to suspect anyone, I trust all of you…" Tsuna said uneasily.

"People lie and deceive each other all the time. It's all part of life – and life in the Mafia most of all." Shamal said.

Gokudera gulped. Why did the conversation suddenly turn as familiar as his own conscience? He never wanted to lie… or was he still lying, but now to himself? _I just wanted to keep her safe, and now I have the chance to set things right._

"Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right." Yamamoto said sternly.

"Regardless, we can't afford to be distracted and lose trust in each other during such a crucial situation." Reborn stated. "Let's just focus on the task at hand."

"Right." Tsuna said. "Could we discuss the plan again, just to make sure we all know what's going on."

"I'll be taking Sasagawa's place as the hostage. Baseball-idiot, Kakimoto and Shamal will be accompanying me to make sure nothing goes wrong and Sasagawa gets out of there safely." Gokudera explained. "Lawn-head, Animal-freak, Chrome and Hibari will provide backup and get rid of anyone stupid enough to get in the way."

"While I-pin, Fuuta and Lambo keep Haru busy, Giovanni will keep her safe." Bianchi added.

"When I'm taken hostage, I'll try to find out as much as I can about what they're planning and how strong they are, then I'll find a way to escape or get the information to you guys." Hayato continued. "If I make a mistake or something goes wrong, I take everything down with me."

"Why don't you try waiting a bit for us to save you?" Yamamoto said.

"I can't compromise the family." Gokudera said. "Don't worry, I'm prepared for goodbyes."

"Most of us aren't." Bianchi said. "I respect your resolve, Hayato, but as your sister I can't just let you-"

"Well it's a bit too late for that, isn't it?" Gokudera said under his breath.

"We're close." Chikusa finally spoke. "Get ready."

"Leave your weapons behind, Hayato." Shamal said. "If they're trying to invent new ones, then giving them advanced technology from the future isn't exactly the best plan."

"Fine." Gokudera said as he removed his rings and the box weapons from his belt and handed them to Yamamoto. "You better take care of these, baseball-idiot."

"They'll be safe with me." Takeshi replied.

"I've still got dynamite with me, more than enough to bring down the mountain if I've got to." He muttered.

"Let's just hope it doesn't have to come to that." Bianchi said. "You're twenty meters from the meeting point."

"The Estraneo were labeled as enemies in the Mafia, and used children as guinea pigs to test their inventions… we were told that it was an honor to die for the development. They will do anything to achieve their goals." Chikusa said nonchalantly.

"Don't remind me, ~byon." Ken's voice was heard through the earphones. "Anyway, stupid Chrome says there aren't any illusions around here, and that creepy guy with the tonfas already knocked out the patrolling guards – and your Sun Guardian."

"Let's go." Gokudera said.

"Hayato remember-" Bianchi tried to speak.

"I know, I know. Be careful." He sighed. "I'm going into radio silence now. I don't want to have any second thoughts."

"Wait, son." Gokudera's father said, his voice cracking. "Let me tell you one last thing – a true Mafioso never keeps a lady waiting. I'll disown you if you ever forget it."

"I won't, father." Hayato replies and turns off his earpiece.

* * *

_**Midori Middle School, Theatre.**_

The curtains opened to reveal a half-finished set with props for a medieval village scene, a tall stone tower on the right-hand side was occupied by a girl with long light-brown hair, holding the script and reading her lines.

"Romeo, romeo… wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

"Oh, my sweet Juliet…" a dark-haired youth enters the stage behind the half-painted castle wall, and subsequently sends it falling.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Natsuki says as she rubs her head.

"Are you alright, Natsuki-chan?" Haru says as she helps her friend stand up.

"It's nothing. I guess I tripped on the wooden stand." She said. "Some graceful youth from fair Verona I am."

"Alright everyone, take a break." The bespectacled Akiko stands up from the seats and joins her friends. "You were doing great, Natsuki… until-"

"Yeah, I'll watch out next time. Did I really pull it off?" Natsuki said. "I mean, I know we're an all girls school and it's hard to find something with so many female roles, but I'm really glad to be doing something other than the yearly Madeline. If I have to play Pepito for the third year in a row, I swear I'm- never mind. At least they let us change the play on such short notice."

"Then we should all thank Haru-chan for giving us the idea." Akiko said. "Are you sure you'd rather be in the props and costume department?"

"I like the backstage ~desu." Haru smiled. "It's challenging to make costumes, since all the roles have to be played by us girls."

"Something tells me I know where she got her inspiration for doing Romeo and Juliet." Natsuki winked.

"Hahi? What do you mean?" Haru asked.

"It's a romantic love story set in Verona – an Italian city." Akiko said. "Do we have to spell it out for you?"

"You're supposed to be the one spelling it out for us, Haru-chan." Natsuki teased. "What's up with you and that Gokudera guy huh?"

Haru blushed. "Well… I did get the idea for the play while I was with him… when he came back from Italy, he waited for me after school and it rained…"

"Awww… I think I saw that in a-." Natsuki began.

"Let her finish." Akiko interrupted.

"…it's no big deal really…" Haru said. "…we got caught in the rain and looked for a place to stay, and we saw this Maid café."

"I never would have guessed he would be into something like that." Akiko said while adjusting her glasses.

"Hahi, he wasn't." Haru let out a chuckle. "…the café was Shakespeare themed, so they had us all dress up…"

"And you two got to be Romeo and Juliet! I KNEW IT!" Natsuki punched her fist in the air.

"Not exactly ~desu. He was Mercutio and I was Miranda from The Tempest… but maybe you're right that that was where I got the idea." Haru said. "I'm just happy they actually allowed us to change the play in the middle of preparations for Madeline."

Haru's thoughts drifted for a moment, and the small smile of a memory was gone from her face. _How are you, Gokudera-kun?_

* * *

_**Death Mountain.**_

"Well, I'll be – it's the Young Master!" a tall young woman said as he catches sight of Hayato's group. "And Trident Shamal's with him! Isn't this a strange day for a reunion, Antonio?"

"I was told we would be gaining something with far more value than that girl, but I never expected our own Young Master…" the man named Antonio said.

"Tch. I'm not your Young Master anymore." Hayato said irritably. "Just what are you after?"

"I'm sure you'd like to find out." The woman said. "Looks like little Hayato has developed quite the attitude while he was away. How has it been, working for the Vongola, Trident Shamal?"

_If she calls me Little Hayato again I swear I'm gonna hit her… I don't care if she protected me from being pummeled by a horse when I was little. _Hayato thought.

"I never would have left if I knew such a beautiful woman such as yourself was waiting for me, Franca." Shamal said.

"Hmph. Some things never change." Franca scoffs.

"Are you serious?" Antonio said. "This isn't the time to be-"

"However, Antonio is right." Shamal's expression turns serious.

"Don't worry, we do have Mafioso pride. The girl's fine, just sedated." Franca said as Antonio hauled the unconscious Kyoko up and handed her to Shamal. "She was too much trouble for what she was worth – always trying to escape, when she couldn't even give any good information."

"Exactly. And I thought people from this part of the world were supposed to be well disciplined." Franca said. "Now, Master Hayato, I think you know what happens next."

"Right." Hayato steps forward and lets himself be taken away.

"And don't get any ideas – the girl's been wiped of all her memories since being taken. You won't get anything on us from her." Antonio added and they began to walk away.

"Oi! Gokudera." Yamamoto called out. "I can't take care of Haru for you anymore."

_What the hell? _Hayato turns back to face the baseball-idiot.

"You do that yourself when you come back." Takeshi smiled.

"Fine, then I will, baseball-idiot." Gokudera replies.

* * *

_**Minutes later.**_

"They grow up so fast, don't they, Antonio?" Franca laughs as they make their way into the underground hideout.

"So who was that 'Haru' you were talking about, Young Master?" Antonio asks teasingly.

_EVEN IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS? _Hayato sighs in frustration. "Can't you two just stay quiet while you're leading me to my prison?"

"Who said we were leading you to a prison?" Franca said, smirking.

Antonio took Hayato from behind and pointed his gun right on his former Young Master's head. "Have you forgotten why we defected from the family? You think you're so smart just because you're now part of the Vongola…"

"…and they hand you to us so easily." Franca scoffed.

_FUCK._ Was all that could register in Hayato's brain as death was only a trigger away.

* * *

_**Midori Middle School, Theatre.**_

"Hahi?" Haru was broken from her reverie by a strange feeling.

"You're spacing out again, Haru-chan!" Natsuki called out.

"I-I'm sorry." Haru said as she pulled on the rope to raise the moon prop. "I-I'll pay more attention."

"No, no, that's enough. We're all tired anyway, practice's over for today. Great job everyone!" Akiko announced.

"I'm fine really!" Haru said.

"It's alright, everyone take care!" Natsuki said as she waved and everyone said their goodbyes.

"I think we need to have a talk, Haru-chan." Akiko said as she went up the stage. "Clearly something's bothering you."

"It's nothing ~desu." Haru said.

"Come on Haru-chan, you can tell us." Natsuki said.

"It's – it's just…" Haru sighed. "I'm worried that Gokudera-kun is doing something…"

"Like cheating on you with another girl?" Akiko said as she straightened her glasses.

"No, nothing like that." Haru said. "…something dangerous ~desu."

"Dangerous?" Natsuki said, a little surprised. "Like he's a member of the Yakuza or something?"

"I…don't know. He's not telling me anything." Haru sighed.

"This isn't like you at all, Haru-chan." Akiko said. "What happened to the girl who never let anything get in her way for someone she loved?"

"Didn't you say that you used to follow that Tsuna guy around to find out if he really was as kind as you thought he was?" Natsuki added. "Then if this Hayato doesn't want to tell you anything, you have to find out yourself."

"There can't be a functional relationship if you can't trust each other with the truth." Akiko said sternly.

"So, do you like this Hayato guy?" Natsuki asked.

"…I… think so." Haru mumbled as her face flushes.

"You like him enough to want to find out if he's in trouble?" she asked again.

"…yeah." Haru replied, smiling a little.

"You don't want to just stand in the sidelines and wait for things to happen while you don't know a thing?"

"Yeah! Haru's tired of feeling clueless!" Haru said with enthusiasm.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Akiko asked.

"…well, there is this ninja outfit I've never had the chance of trying out." Haru smiled as she made her way out of the theatre.

"That's the Haru-chan we all know and love!" Akiko smiled.

"Good luck Haru-chan!" Natsuki waved goodbye. "Don't blame us if he's just been acting weird because he was making a surprise for you!"

* * *

_**Outside Midori Middle School.**_

"Haru-san." Giovanni greeted her as she came out of the school's gate.

"Hahi?" Haru recalled where she saw him before.

"I'm Giovanni, Ma-Hayato-san's friend from Italy." He said.

"Hahi, it is you, Giovanni-san! You're not wearing your Visual Kei outfit." Haru studied his features. "You look like a normal foreigner. So, what're you doing here?"

"Haru-nee!" Fuuta greeted from the backseat of the car. "Goku-nii couldn't come with us today since he's busy with Tsuna-nii and the others, but Gio-nii will be here with us."

"Let's play, Haru!" Lambo stuck his head out the window. "I-pin is here too!"

"Hahi?" Haru said in disbelief. "Gokudera-kun actually arranged to play with you guys today?"

"…uh… that's how it is, Haru-san." Giovanni replied, scratching his head.

Haru smiled a little. _Maybe I have been worrying too much._

* * *

_**Estraneo Headquarters, Death Mountain.**_

"Good evening, Young Master." Franca smiles from the seat at the foot of an elegant four-poster bed.

"What the-!" Gokudera sat up quickly.

"No, you're not dead." She said, chuckling a little.

"You should've seen the look on your face!" Antonio laughs. "It was just a special bullet – guaranteed to make anyone fall unconscious for three hours, same as the one we used on that girl."

"Well we couldn't let you find out how to get in here." Franca explained. "Well, does it remind you of home?"

"Too much." Hayato grumbled a reply. "What the hell are you trying to do?"

"All in due time, Young Master." Franca smiled and stood.

"We'll show you that we don't need the Vongola." Antonio said as he left.

"Dinner will be in thirty minutes. Someone's been very interested to meet you, Young Master." Franca said as she too left Hayato alone.

"Damn." Gokudera looked at his surroundings – it looked exactly like his room in their Manor in Tuscany. The wallpaper, the furniture, even the bed sheets. He also found that his earpiece was gone, and all the dynamite he's hidden with him have vanished.

* * *

_**Tsuna's House, Namimori.**_

"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna called out worriedly as Shamal lays her on the sofa.

"She's fine." Shamal said. "Just unconscious."

"How's Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked.

"I think he'll be alright. I he's with familiar faces, that's for sure." Shamal explained what happened in detail for a few minutes.

"We're leaving ~byon." Ken said as he walked out the door with Chikusa.

"Just tell us if you need anything, boss." Chrome said as she left.

"Antonio and Franca…" Bianchi mused. "To think even they would defect from the family."

"I'm a failure, I can't even keep the trust of my subordinates." Her father sighs in despair.

"They'll come around, father." Bianchi comforts him. "It's not your fault. It'll be alright."

"For your brother's sake, I hope so…"

* * *

_**Estraneo Headquarters, Death Mountain.**_

"Time for dinner, Young Master. Sorry for the inconvenience, but we're not so stupid as to let you map out this place." Franca said as she ties a blindfold over his eyes.

"It's not like I have a choice." Gokudera griped and she led her to the dining area.

"Mind your manners, you'll be meeting one of the Estraneo's greatest minds." She explained. "Okay, so he hasn't really invented anything yet, and doesn't really approve of the Estraneo's methods… but for some reason, he wants to meet you."

"Who is this guy?" he asks.

"You'll see." Franca takes of the blindfold and puts him on a seat.

"Thank you for bringing him, Franca. You may leave." A smart-looking man in his thirties smiles. "Good evening, Hurricane Bomb Hayato. Isn't that what they call you now, Vongola's Storm Guardian?"

"What do you want with me?" Gokudera asks impatiently.

"I'm simply one of the people intrigued by your music." The man answered. "A forward thinker such as myself is drawn to someone so innovative, so out of bounds – out of the box, I mean – someone such as you. I wanted to know what a boy of such utter skill and reckless abandon would be like."

"Music?"

"You are the same Hayato that used to play weekly recitals around Italy, are you not?"

"I don't play the piano anymore." Gokudera said dismissively.

"That doesn't change the fact that you have incredible talent. Anyway, let us not waste the delicacies that these people have put the effort to prepare for us." The man smiled. "Eat your dinner, I promise you it's just perfectly normal, and may I say delicious, Linguini."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Most people call me Innocenti."

Hayato's eyes widened in shock – he had not only met, but was having dinner with the man who would create his Sistema C.A.I.

* * *

::Finally! I didn't know it was that hard to re-write something from scratch. Anyway, I hope this chapter was up to your expectations.

::Can anyone already guess who the traitor is?

::As to Haru being out-of-character… well, I guess I just see her from a different perspective – I've always thought of her as someone who knows a lot more than she shows, and just hides it all behind her energetic attitude.

::Thanks for reading, please review!


	24. Agito

::Okay, I've been sucked into various games and have finally decided to start watching Bleach (we all know how long that is)… and I feel like my previous chapter was so below par, so I haven't been very enthusiastic about this chapter. I feel like I lost my writing-mojo or something. I hope I'm over that after a week long island vacation.

::Anyway, I've decided to stop using the bold-italic font setting for Italian speech… it's kinda cluttered-looking, and I'm sure you guys can decide whether they're supposed to be talking in Italian or not. On the same note, Antonio, Franca and Innocenti don't speak a word of Japanese.

::I don't own KHR. If I did, I would know who Gokudera's father really is and what Hibari did to get so strong.

* * *

"**.Agito."**

Gokudera studied the man on the other side of the table as he quietly ate his Linguini – which did taste delicious, he noted. This tall, bespectacled, brown-haired man, this was Innocenti?

Well, it wasn't like he really put much thought to the creator of his Sistema C.A.I. He was too preoccupied with figuring out how it worked and how to use it. But the man before him certainly wasn't what he imagined.

_What did Gamma say about this guy again? _

"_Those bizarre shapes and occult designs… must be from the most artistic of the three box-weapon designers. An Innocenti original. You're not even aware of your box's true value."_

_Well, fuck. Maybe I should've at least given it some thought. The most artistic of the box-weapon designers… that explains him wanting to meet me because of my old music, I guess._

"You seem rather perplexed, boy." Innocenti commented in a strange, amused tone as he drank the champagne in his glass. "Heh, no… not perplexed. I know a thinker when I see one. You seem to be analyzing the situation in your head. Tell me, what is it that has caught your attention?"

Gokudera looked sternly at the man for a moment and thought, before answering: "I'm being held hostage here so the Estraneo and the defectors from my father's family can develop weapons, I'm here to make sure that the Vongola doesn't do anything to get in the way of their plans… but, something I don't get, is why you're here."

Innocenti smiled and set his half-empty glass down. "And why is that?"

"You're obviously not working for them because of money – they've got nothing left, been in hiding for years." Gokudera said, crossing his arms. "Besides, you don't seem like the type to do anything for money. Do you?"

It was as if the dining table had turned itself into a chessboard, and the two were engaged in their own battle of wits. Gokudera found something unnerving about Innocenti's smile… like he knew so much more while he could understand so little. This was one of the reasons why he never trusted adults. But he couldn't feel any hostility in the man in front of him.

"Well observed, for someone you've met for the first time." Innocenti said, still in that strange amused tone. "Yes, you are right. Money is of little value to me. I savor the pursuits of the mind – discovery, creation… the things that really matter. You said you couldn't understand what I'm doing here, working for these people." Innocenti sighed. "That is where you are wrong."

Gokudera suddenly got hit by a bolt of realization. "You're not working for them, are you?" He was surprised and hardly believed it. "You're just like me, you're a hostage!" _Even if you do seem to be enjoying it._

Innocenti smiled again, and clapped his hands twice in a regal fashion. "Very good, you're smarter than you look. I am in fact, being held captive here – I know it doesn't look it, but I was well, kidnapped…"

"You don't seem bothered at all." Hayato commented irritably. "You can't be enjoying yourself in a place like this?" Or could you? Would it still be a closed-off, suffocating prison if you were allowed to do what you loved while trapped in it?

"I have never been given so many resources and so much artistic and scientific freedom!" He answered. "They don't ask for much, these Estraneo – just work on my research and sit here quietly. They even gave me room and board, and the food is good."

"What the hell…" Hayato murmured under his breath.

"Ah, well, you must understand how hard it is to be a man of science these days – I haven't been able to prove any of my theories, and since I am most interested in the workings of the Mafia, I am sure you can see why it is hard for me to find a sponsor." Innocenti explained. "Koenig did always tell me I had my head in the clouds." He muttered. "Ever since we found Lorinzini's old blueprints, we've been trying to bring them to life."

_So the box-weapon blueprints have been found already…_

"While I thought, why put so much work into three-hundred-year-old plans – why not take the idea and make it your own? We all know that each person has the potential to carry a dying-will flame, but what if a person had the capacity to carry flames of more than one type? The possibilities are endless! Imagine battle with fused flames, mixed attributes – a whole army's arsenal in a few pint-sized boxes." The man continued voicing out his ideas enthusiastically.

Gokudera was feeling a bit uneasy – the words he was hearing sounded all too familiar. He wondered for a moment, how his future self had come by this man, how could he have acquired the Sistema C.A.I. – it took him a really long time and a lot of thinking before he could learn to use it himself. It was obviously designed and created especially for him – but how? Again, he found himself regretting that he didn't try to find out more about the future.

"Well, Koenig was more of a straight-forward weaponry type." Innocenti sighed. "My apologies, young man, you had to listen to a failed man's prattle. The other scientists here have no imagination whatsoever… it was nice having an intellectual conversation for once. Thank you."

But Hayato saw a different light in the man's eyes – it was as if he wasn't speaking the words to him; the man was speaking to himself, trying to convince him of his own lies. And then, he knew. He stood up and turned to leave. "You don't really like it here all that much, do you?"

Perhaps it wasn't only the Sistema C.A. I. that seemed to connect them through time – they were both starting to lose their skill of lying to themselves. The look on Innocenti's face as Hayato closed the door would've been as good as saying: "Help me."

* * *

_**Tsuna's House.**_

The atmosphere in the living room was so thick with anxiety that not even the sweet smell of Tsuna's mom's cooking that wafted from the kitchen was able to ease their mood. Everyone was tense, waiting for any news that would come in from the outside.

"We're in." Yamamoto Takeshi's voice made almost everyone sigh in relief and go on alert at the same time. "We'll start looking for anything that might lead to where Gokudera is, or whatever they're doing here."

"We'll stand by and get rid of anyone here outside ~byon." Ken's voice said on all earpieces. "Chrome's got the guards outside under illusions."

"Everyone, be careful and stick together." Tsuna said worriedly.

In a corner of the room, despite the current crisis, there was a small smile on Reborns lips. _They're doing well, Timoteo. They'll make a fine Family._ "Just trust in them, Tsuna. You have your own part to play."

There was Reborn's abstract advice again – why does he never just say it clearly? Tsuna was sure Reborn knew something he wasn't telling them. He was wary about their plan, letting Gokudera do as he wishes and saving Kyoko in the process… but Tsuna knew better than that now. He knew his Storm Guardian would do everything he was planning to, but was also sure that Hayato might not make it back alive.

That was where the second plan came in.

Yamamoto, Chikusa and Shamal were to infiltrate the Estraneo's hideout as well. They had all agreed they wouldn't just let Gokudera waltz in there by himself. Yamamoto was the Storm Guardian's best friend, and Shamal was his former teacher. Chikusa, Tsuna suspected, wanted some retribution. It was Reborn's idea not to tell the silver-haired bomber about it, so that his actions as a hostage would be convincing, and the Estraneo wouldn't suspect a thing. He had reluctantly agreed – but he still didn't like the idea of keeping such a thing from Gokudera.

Ken, Hibari, Ryohei and Chrome were to stay outside and provide backup when needed. Ken and Ryohei would've attracted far too much attention, and Chrome needed to make sure the infiltration team would get in without any problems. Hibari was there to take care of any.

The one thing Tsuna didn't like at all about this plan, was that he was to stay at home for his protection. Like a true Mafia boss, letting his subordinates to the work. Well, he'd decided that if he was going to be the Tenth boss of the Vongola, he didn't want to be a boss that did nothing but give orders.

He was glad that Kyoko was safe – but disappointed in himself, that he wasn't able to save her himself. More than anything, he wanted to get out there, to help them, to do anything but stay put. He looked to his right and saw Gokudera's father with his face in his hands, and Bianchi with a comforting arm around her father. No, he wasn't the only one who wanted to go out there. He wasn't the only one tired of just waiting for news on their earpieces.

Suddenly, there was a banging on the door and children's worried voices. "Tsuna-nii! Tsuna-nii!" The tenth Vongola boss-to-be rushed to the door and opened it to find a bruised and barely concious Giovanni propped up on Fuuta's small shoulders.

"They took Haru!" Lambo cried.

Guiseppe and Bianchi took Giovanni and set him on the sofa. "Giovanni-san tried to stop them, but there were too many of them, and he had to keep us safe too."

The small smile on Reborn's lips faltered. _Now Tsuna, what will you do?_

* * *

_**Death Mountain.**_

"You know the drill." Franca said as she stood from her place by the door and took a black cloth and tied it over her former Young Master's eyes. The drab, metallic, seemingly endless gray hallways disappeared beneath the blackness and she put her hand on his shoulder has she guided him from behind. He stayed silent, counting each step he took, taking in each sound his ears could pick up, trying to heighten all his other senses. _One, two, three… take a left… another ten steps… turn right… _

He heard a gasping sound from what he estimated was just a few feet away – and a voice he wished he was just imagining. He stopped dead in his tracks, and despite the blindfold, his eyes widened in intermingled horror and surprise.

"H-hahi? Where is this place?" the voice said, it was unmistakable – after hearing it so much, and maybe even hoping to hear it a few instances prior, Hayato was sure. Her expression of 'Hahi!' was a dead giveaway.

"Haru?" he whispered under his breath. _No, no, this is exactly what I was trying to prevent – she can't be here… damn it!_ He immediately made a move to remove his blindfold and go towards the voice. Franca may have been one of his father's subordinates, but he could probably handle her, that was until she spoke in his ear.

"If you do what you're thinking of doing, she'll just die." she whispered, and the thoughts of acting on his emotions left his mind. "Don't do anything drastic. They still need her – she'll be safe for now, but if you suddenly attack, what would you do? You have no weapons, and you don't know what they're capable of. Stay calm – that's always been your problem. Just follow me, you can play hero later."

_What the hell-? _"Do you expect me to just-" he said, clenching his fists, straining to hear Haru's voice. She sounded confused, wary, and scared – but he knew she wasn't crying. She sounded the same way whenever she tried to pretend that she was alright, as if she was trying to convince herself so. He heard a door close, and all was silent except for his own quickening heartbeat – and his own thoughts screaming in a torrent in his head.

Franca continued to guide him down the winding hallways, never slackening her grip, seemingly to remind him to stay calm. _I'm the Storm Guardian, damn it! A storm isn't supposed to be fucking calm! _Though he did not try to go back or to resist either – his logic was restraining his impulse. _She wouldn't be any safer if you tried to do anything, you might end up just getting her killed. _He told himself over and over in his head. _Stay calm, think. Stay calm. _Why is it he seemed to be telling himself that whenever Haru was concerned?

Oh, he knew. He's known for a while. There's no use denying it now, not when his previous actions betrayed his fruitless thoughts to deny his own emotions. He had to admit it to himself – she was probably one of the few things that could calm him, no matter how indirectly. And she could also call up a hurricane in him that could rival no other. It was just waiting, biding its time, getting ready. It was the quintessential calm before the storm – and he hoped it would be enough to save her.

A few more moments of walking in the darkness, and Franca removed his blindfold. He was back in his cell – so perfectly disguised as his bedroom in Italy. "I'm sorry, Master Hayato. But it was in your best interests." Franca said. "I heard she's been taken in to see what effects the memory-alteration has had on her. She'll be safe while they perform tests."

"Safe my ass! What if she gets hurt? What if she forgets everything? Who knows what kind of tests they could be doing." He said instantly, every word filled with frustration and anger – anger at himself, for failing again.

"She would be alive." Franca said sternly. "You must really care about her, since your bratty attitude keeps popping up. Now shut up and stay put. You better listen to me if you know what's good for you."

"What the hell?" Gokudera broke free of Franca's grip, his eyes demanding an explanation. Aren't they supposed to be his enemies now?

Franca smiled amusedly at his bewilderment. "Oh, that's right, we're defectors from your father's Family… you must be wondering why we're here trying to save your ass. You see, though Antonio and I have no trust in the Vongola, and we believe that they're just trying to take over – which was why we defected in the first place…"

"…we are still loyal to your father – and to you… well, that was what we decided a few hours ago. I guess we couldn't bring ourselves to betray you outright." Antonio entered the room with a smile on his face and a wooden crate in his hands. "This isn't all of them, you brought so damn many I couldn't have snuck them all out of the holding room." He handed him the crate, and he didn't even have to open it to find out what was inside it – the smell was obvious. Explosives. His dynamite.

"So, would that be enough to blow this place up?" Antonio asked, smiling. "Well, probably not, but at least you've got something. You really are the same reckless Young Master – I never expected you to be so elaborately suicidal. Maybe that's why we've decided to help you. I can't just let the little boy I used to play with die in front of me."

"But you stay here and keep quiet while we check things out. Don't do anything rash – you might end up regretting it." Franca said, and she and Antonio shut the door behind them.

Somewhere inside, Gokudera was glad he wasn't alone. He hated to admit it, but he needed their help. _ But shit, if they keep treating me like a kid I'll- _well, he would think of something.

* * *

Haru thought she heard someone whisper her name in the darkness a moment ago. _Haru, what did you get yourself into? _She thought to herself, trying to remember the events that got her into wherever she was now – but she couldn't bring to mind anything except finishing practice for the play they were supposed to perform in school, and then going to the park with Lambo-kun and the others.

She remembered talking to Giovanni-san about Gokudera-kun, and asking him what was happening, and asking him to tell her what he was doing… but everything was a dark blur after that.

_Why can't I remember anything… _she was desperately trying to force back the tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she studied her surroundings. A bare white room with a bed and two doors; she suspected one of them led to the dark hallway where she came from, the other probably to a bathroom. She heard a loud thump on the wall behind her. "W-who's there ~desu?" she asked warily.

"H-haru?" the voice behind the wall was thick with surprise, and from what she could tell, relief. "Haru, is that you?" the voice was followed by a knock on the wall. She couldn't believe it – he was just the one she was planning on looking for, and there he was, a few centimeters away, between them only a metallic wall. She smiled despite herself, and breathed a short sigh of relief. "It's me, Gokudera-kun." She replied, touching the wall as if she could already see him behind it.

_You get what you ask for, Haru. _She thought. Despite the situation, she felt a small pang of joy inside her. Now, finally, she could ask for the truth – and he could no longer keep it from her. She would give him no choice. "G-Gokudera-kun… please, tell me… what is this place? Why are we here… and who you really are." Haru pleaded, wiping the tears off her face. "Haru swears she'll believe whatever you say… and I'll just hope that it's the truth. I don't want to be protected by lies anymore."

On the other side of the wall, Gokudera gulped – he would blast that wall to pieces if it wouldn't attract any attention. It would be better if she could see his face when he finally confessed how much of a liar he was, and it would make it easier for him to not ask for the forgiveness he didn't feel he deserved. _Haru swears she'll believe whatever you say…_ the voice echoed in his head. _…and I'll just hope it's the truth. _How could he lie to her now? There was no way he could bring himself to do it – and it wasn't just because it would be impossible to give an excuse to their current situation. "Alright, Haru. The truth, no more secrets, no more lies."

And he prayed she would forgive him for it.

* * *

::Ahh, now isn't that three-thousand words of sappy drama? I bet everybody already knew Haru was gonna get thrown into the hideout anyway… well, the end's in sight – maybe six more chapters till the curtains close… I haven't had a story I saw as clearly as this one before.

::Look's like Gokudera's finally 'fessing up both to Haru and to himself, and that words are being friendlier with me a little.

::To all the anonymous reviewers who I can't reply to, thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

::Thanks for reading! Please review!


	25. Truth

::I'm really, really sorry for the incredibly long delay. I don't wanna make excuses, but adjusting to college life has really been quite the challenge for me, that and a whole lot of things related to my life outside fanfiction writing has been taking up a lot of my time. Another reason was the sheer difficulty of writing this chapter – I know you guys only want and deserve the best, and I hope my efforts are acceptable enough.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Truth."**

Gokudera sat by the wall where he heard her voice, and she did the same. They were separated by only a few centimeters of distance, by a metallic wall. All she wanted was the truth, and he had done all he could to protect her from it – but now was the time for him to put an end to the deceit, even if he must expose himself as a lair.

There was no reason to hide anything anymore. He had already failed to prevent Haru from getting involved in this, and whatever he was going to say wouldn't really matter to the Estraneo – Haru didn't need to know about the box weapons, and besides, who in their right mind would believe that a bunch of teenagers managed to save the world in the future?...he hoped though, that she would, otherwise, what would be the point of all this?

"The Vongola is currently the world's strongest Mafia Famiglia, I was an outsider adopted into the family… but that's another story." Gokudera sighed as he narrated. "You see, it all started when I got an order from the Vongola Nono, to become the Decimo's Storm Guardian… I was sent to Japan, and that's where I met Juudaime, you and the others."

"Hahi? M-mafia?" Haru couldn't believe what she was hearing. _But, we're all just middle-schoolers! _

"You said you'd believe anything I say, Stupid Woman." Gokudera muttered under his breath. "Do you think I would tell you such a half-assed story if it wasn't the truth? Just shut up and listen – you asked for this, you know. Now, let me finish." _Let's get this goddamn thing over with._

He told her everything he could remember, everything he thought she would have known had she not lost her memories. How the Tenth saving her from drowning, the events that transpired during the ring conflict with the Varia over the right to become the Tenth boss of Vongola, and even the little things, the small everyday events that he wanted her to remember… he found it strange, how quietly she was taking it all. _I did tell her to shut up, but… _It was when he started talking about their adventures in the future when he heard a reaction from the other side of the wall.

_Shit, I made her cry again._

* * *

_**Tsuna's House.**_

The room was wrapped in a tense silence as the news of Haru's abduction sunk in. _First Kyoko-chan gets taken, then Basil-kun gets injured, then Gokudera-san is taken hostage… now they've kidnapped Haru._ Tsuna was unnervingly silent, his eyes shadowed and his fists clenched in both anger and worry. A flame suddenly lit from his forehead and his X-gloves went ablaze with a brilliant orange flame.

"What do you think you're trying to do, Tsuna?" Reborn asked him, his eyes hidden under the shadows of his hat.

"You always tell me that it's a boss's job to take care of his family, Reborn. I'm going, even if it costs me my life." He says, and runs out the door and flies off, regretting he didn't do it sooner.

"Hmph, dame-Tsuna trying to act cool." Reborn said, but the proud smirk on his lips gives him away completely.

Gokudera's father takes his hands off his face and breathes a heavy sigh. "The boy is right. I am the boss of my family, am I not?" He stands up and gathers his resolve. "I have to do something."

"But - father!" Bianchi grasps his hand to stop him from leaving. "You could get killed out there."

"Figlia mia, Bianchi, por favore, I cannot bear to lose my only son, knowing that there was something I could've done to save him." He says, his eyes full of a conviction she hasn't seen from him in years.

Bianchi let go of her father's hand and shed a tear. "I'm coming with you. Hayato is my little brother too."

"No, my daughter. Giovanni, these children, and this young lady need you to look after them. And I will not be able to forgive myself if anything happens to both my children." He says. "Let me be the father Hayato has always deserved to have, for once."

She nods and he wipes the tears off her face. "Be careful, father."

"Bianchi, have I not told you that your face is much more beautiful when you are smiling? Don't worry, everything will be alright." Her father smiles consolingly and walks out the door, followed by Guiseppe, who, after more than a decade of service, still refuses to leave his master's side.

At that moment, Bianchi wished she was a little girl again, because back then she could still believe everything her father said - back then, she still believed that he was invincible and that everything would be alright just because he said it would be.

* * *

_**Death Mountain. **_

"…there were a lot of hard battles in the future… the Milfiore were strong, they were smart – but in the end they underestimated the Vongola, and Juudaime…" Gokudera recounted. "…and he saved us all, and we were able to return here, to our own time. We later found out everything was planned out by Juudaime's older self though…" And his tale of the future ended there. "It's been a few months since then, and… and the accident that caused you to lose your memories was because of the Estraneo and their experiments, and the defectors from my father's family…" He gave a short sigh of relief, and apprehensively waited for Haru's response.

The next few moments of anxiety seemed like an eternity to him. She was silent, and said not a word, but he could hear her uneasy breaths and sobs. He knew that behind that wall, Haru was crying; crying because of him. He couldn't even bring himself to ask for forgiveness… he felt like he didn't deserve any. He wished she would shout at him, get angry, hit him – anything. Anything was better than nothing.

He heard a soft tap on the wall behind him and turned around to face the metallic wall. He prepared himself for whatever she was going to tell him. "H-haru… I'm-"

"T-thank you, Gokudera-kun." Haru's voice said softly. "…for helping me understand."

"I-" he began to say. _I'm sorry. _But it wouldn't really matter, an apology would hardly suffice… "Haru, I'm sor-"

"Please don't apologize, Gokudera-kun…" she said in a quiet voice. "…I understand now. It's all a little blurry, but… I believe you. I can tell that you're telling me the truth, I feel like it's real. I think I can remember a little."

"I lied to you, Haru." He said, punching the wall lightly with his fist. _So get angry at me already, Stupid Woman. _

"You were right… and you didn't lie." Haru said. "Not really. You told me you didn't make promises you can't keep. You promised Tsuna-kun you would keep me safe, away from the mafia. I understand, I think I always have." She started sobbing a little again. "…I'm not really much use to everyone – I always end up needing to be saved, and there's not much I can really do to help… it's only right. You did what you could to keep me safe. I should've accepted that. I should have respected your choice. I should've understood why you tried so hard to protect me."

He's already run through this scenario over a hundred times in his head. He's always been anxious and dreading the moment when the truth finally had to be told, when the lies had to be stopped and when he would have to just hope and pray that Haru would understand… and in all those scenarios, he not once envisioned what was happening to him now – Haru thanked him. She didn't want him to apologize, despite everything he's done. She was taking the blame and telling him she understood what he tried to do. But to him, it just didn't feel right – there was this nagging feeling inside him that he couldn't get rid of… he was pretty sure it was guilt.

"Stupid Woman. You've got it all wrong." He muttered. "It's not true that you're no help to anyone." She didn't know how much she's already 'helped' the silver-haired Storm Guardian, in her own strange way. _What was it Reborn-san had said?_ "The Vongola are at their strongest when we have something to protect."

* * *

_**Namimori Hospital.**_

The night's lamplight filtered eerily through the blinds, shedding linear paths of light on the beds inside the sterile environment of the hospital room, the smell of antiseptics and medicines littered the air just as in any other hospital. Bianchi sighed as she put a blanket over the sleeping Fuuta.

The boy had insisted on coming with her to take care of the wounded Giovanni, the unconscious Kyoko, and Basil, who was still recovering and hasn't woken up since the attack at the Theatre. Of course, if Fuuta came along, then so did I-pin and Lambo. She doubted she'd be able to get any rest with so many people to take care of, but her current concerns about her brother and father would probably have prevented her from sleeping nonetheless.

Bianchi couldn't concentrate on the book she was trying to read. Her thoughts were racing, and she put the book down on the table dismissively and leaned back on the hospital chair. _Why do all the men in my family have a hero complex? _She smiled a little – noting that she was the same. She would've rushed in there and tried to rescue her brother in an instant, if only the little ones didn't need her.

So, for now, she was content, watching over them here in the hospital, keeping them safe. Like the perfect Italian daughter, she would be ready with a warm welcome once the others got back. She would stay put, and hope for the best.

Little did she know that the traitor they've been looking for was making his move.

_I really wish I didn't have to do this, Master Bianchi._ He thought desperately, as he held the drugged handkerchief to her face, her vision clouded and she fell to unconsciousness.

He looked hastily around the room. The little kids were little threat, and the girl was just too fragile to do anything against him. The blond boy from CEDEF was one to watch out for – but he had made sure his men would render him unconscious for at least a week, and even then, no one would be able to recognize him as the traitor, he had made sure of that.

He took one last look at the pink-haired girl that was once the object of his affections. He smiled sadly and touched her hair, gently placing it back, out of her face. She was still the most beautiful person in his world, and he had betrayed her – she would probably hate him forever. She would never understand. And maybe, they just were never meant to be.

He looked back on their childhood days – the copious batches of confectionery she served, the smile on her lips as she helped out in the manor's kitchen, treating the staff like equals, like teachers, and the anticipation in her eyes as she waited expectantly for their judgment on her cooking. Of course, he had lied about her food's quality countless times, but he meant it whenever he said he wouldn't mind having another bite, whenever he said he loved her cooking – because it was true, he would ask for more because that would mean she would spend a bit more time with him. And he did love her cooking, he loved it as much as he loved everything else about her.

And, even now that he had already turned his back on everything, he knew he still did.

He left the hospital room. The sound of the door closing was like a final note of confirmation – he would see this through to the end, there was no turning back.

And he would never see her beautiful green eyes that he so loved again.

* * *

_**Death Mountain.**_

Yamamoto, Chikusa and Shamal were quietly making their way around the Estraneo's hideout, Shamal's Trident Mosquitoes flying inconspicuously about, knocking out anyone without giving away their location.

"Shouldn't we try to not knock one of them out so we can ask them where Gokudera and Haru are?" Yamamoto asked in a whisper.

"These are the Estraneo we're talking about, they don't give in that easily." Chikusa said, straightening his glasses as he looked out into another empty corridor. "But, all their headquarters usually follow the same general design: we just have to keep going deeper inside - that's where they keep the hostages, prisoners, and test subjects. The high-level laboratories are probably on the top floors."

"Well then, let's keep going." Takeshi said in a way like it was as simple as a walk to the ballpark.

"I wish I was as calm as you two when I was starting out as a Mafioso." Shamal shrugged.

They continued down the dimly-lit hallway, stopping at a stairwell and then proceeding downward into more of the same boring gray hallways, and it continued on and on like that until it felt like they were stuck in an old computer's screensaver.

Just as they turned a corner, they heard footfalls from two people. One was a tall, red-haired man carrying a small wooden crate. The other was a young, brown haired woman. She seemed to be ordering the man around and arguing with him, while the man just looked like he wasn't listening. Shamal was about to order his mosquitoes to do them in, when he recognized who they were.

Yamamoto and Chikusa looked at him questioningly. Shamal just smiled and walked casually into the hallway. "Miss me so soon, Franca?"

She smirked. "And I thought you Vongola were supposed to be punctual – Master Hayato's getting desperate. I he was always a little hot-headed but he should know better than to -"

"It's not his fault Franca, they took his girl – any real man would –" Antonio tried to explain, but was interrupted by Yamamoto and Chikusa revealing their presence. "When they told us the Vongola were young, I never thought they meant they were kids." He said somewhat mockingly.

"How many times have I heard that before?" Yamamoto said cheerfully. "Who are they, Doctor Shamal?"

"Old friends from Italia." He answered. "I assume, since you didn't try to kill me, that you're back on Hayato's side?"

"I don't think we ever really left." Antonio smiled. "I guess we just got too attached to that little brat."

"Never mind that." Franca snapped, getting serious. "You're here to save Master Hayato and that girl, right?"

"Follow me." Antonio said.

* * *

There was a loud banging on the door and Haru gasped. Two men in lab coats entered the room and loomed eerily above her. Haru bit her lip and took a deep breath, bracing herself. She would put all her faith into a whisper from the wall behind her. She stood and the men took her away, she offered no resistance.

He had promised that everything would be alright. That she would be safe, that she would escape – that everything would go back to the way they were before. What else could she do but trust him? He no longer had a reason to lie, and her instincts were telling her that he was right – she should just stay calm and surrender. She might get into even more trouble if she struggled.

She was blindfolded, two hands latched on to her arms to guide her. Strangely, she did not feel as much fear as she had expected. She reasoned to herself that perhaps she was still in shock – who wouldn't be after just finding out she and her friends were involved with the Mafia? Not to mention travelled to the future and back. She knew it was logically impossible, but somehow she felt from the core of her being that it was the truth. She could see the snippets in her memories, the fragments in her dreams. She was certain she wasn't imagining them, for they felt too familiar – all too real.

And she knew why she wasn't afraid for herself as much.

Once, she thought that having a dashing knight-in-shining armor was such a romantic idea – that having someone you could rely on totally, someone who would save you whenever you were in a bind was a little-girl dream she kept somewhere in her heart.

But, now that everything was so real, she wished she had a way to save herself. She wished she didn't have him as her knight – not because she didn't like him, on the contrary, she was surprised at how much she cared about the silver-haired boy – but because, if he didn't care about her, he would never have been in the danger he was in now.

She hated how she was putting him in danger. She hated how, again, she was in trouble, and all she could do was wait for him to save her.

She told herself: _No, not this time Haru. No more waiting. No more heroes. _

* * *

::You didn't think I'd have Hayato re-word the whole of KHR's story did you? Now we all know who the traitor is… now we have to find out the 'why.'

::Again, to everyone who took their time to read and review this story up to this point, no matter how bad I am at writing it, my sincere gratitude, and my apologies for taking so long.


	26. Omerta

::Again, no excuses, just my sincerest apologies for taking so long.

::I'd also like to thank all you wonderful reviewers on anonymous, since I cannot do so individually. I really appreciate all of it.

::I don't own KHR.

* * *

"**.Omerta."**

While waiting for Antionio and Franca to return, Gokudera was busying himself with setting up his dynamite and wiring them into bombs. It was a task he had done so many times he could rely soley on muscle memory, because at the moment his mind was racing – would the plan work? Would they get to the bottom of this? Would he survive... and would he be able to save her?

"The fuck are you doing here?" Gokudera said in surprise as the door opened to reveal not only Franca and Antonio, but also Shamal, Chikusa and Yamamoto.

"Is that any way to greet your rescuers?" Shamal said.

"How can you all just waltz in here like this? If it was this easy then we should've done this earlier." Hayato said. "They've taken Haru to the testing rooms."

"Well, for one thing, Chrome's put illusions on the surveilance equipment. And if you weren't exchanged with Kyoko, we wouldn't have Franca and Antonio guiding us, so we'd probably be wasting time trying to guess where threy put you instead of being here right now." Shamal answered. "I'm sure you've got a plan worked up in that head of yours, since this is _your_ Haru we're talking about."

"What's up with the 'your'?" Gokudera said. "But yeah, I've got a plan. First off, did you bring my Sistema C.A.I. baseball-idiot?"

"Right here." Yamamoto handed him the box weapons and rings. "One of the boxes is open though."

"Yeah, Uri's been out for a while now. I asked him to watch over Haru from her house, but now that she's been taken, I'm not sure where he is. The stupid cat never listens to me... Franca, did you get what I asked for?"

"Yeah. The I got the map right here." She said irritably. "I don't appreciate you talking to me so informally, you brat – remember, you still owe me from way back."

"Fine, fine. Just – will you _please_ hand me the map, then." Hayato replied and then motioned for everyone to come closer as he explained his plan to them.

* * *

It was terribly unfair, Haru thought as she let herself be taken into a blindingly white laboratory, how Hayato was allowed to worry about her, while he would always be telling her not to worry about him.

Haru took a deep breath as she tried to make sense of the things around her. She felt a soft breeze from a door opening and was dragged inside a room that was filled with the smell of antiseptics. A bright light was peircing through her blindfolds, and then se felt herself being placed on a bed and secured with straps. She tried struggling as much as she could, but there were too many of them and they managed to overpower her.

"Calm down. This won't hurt one bit." A voice said. Haru's mind was racing. The constraints being placed on her wrists and ankles were making her panic, and the first thing on her mind was getting out of there. She tried to scream, but it was as if the voice had been sucked out of her.

'_Calm down, Haru. Think of something. There must be something you can do... you can't count on Gokudera-kun to save you every single time.'_

...but, under the mild buzz of the electronics and the beeps from the heart monitor that told her that her heartbeat was slowly calming, she thought she heard soft, padded steps, and a low purr from under the bed she was being strapped to.

* * *

"I'm coming." Tsuna said into his headset as he blazes through the sky.

"No, Juudaime, please, leave this to us!" Gokudera answered back when he heard it. "Don't trouble yourself-"

"Gokudera-kun, you and the others are my family, and it is my duty as your boss to protect all of you." Tsuna said with conviction. "I'm sick of waiting around doing nothing."

"A-alright, Tenth." Gokudera said. "Then, here's the plan..."

* * *

As Bianchi sat motionless on the chair where Giovanni had left her, a memory from her childhood surfaced from her subconcious, seemingly sending her the answer to her question – _'Giovanni, how could you?'_

"Have you seen Hayato?" Bianchi said cheerfully as she carried a basket of freshly baked cupcakes out of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't, Master Bianchi." The manor's head chef replied. "Perhaps he is with that new boy, the one that came yesterday."

"Alright. Thanks for helping me, mister." She said, and began searching the castle once again, for her brother. '_Why does Hayato always disappear whenever I'm about to give him something I just cooked?' _she thought to herself. _'Where was he hiding last time?' _It was at that time that two men in suits passed by her, and she was able to catch fragments of their conversation.

"...Frederico broke the Omerta, Guiseppe. You know the punishment, it's unforgivable." The serious looking man said. "We all swore an oath once we joined this family."

"He only tried to protect his own, the family of his flesh and blood." The man called Guiseppe said. "The oath of silence has made that boy an orphan, and his father a traitor. We are all the family that boy has left – and that is our own fault."

"You have always been too soft-hearted for a mafioso, Guiseppe." The man said. "Perhaps that is why the boss trusts you so much."

"Perhaps." Guiseppe said. He noticed the little girl carrying the basket of pastry walking past them. "Ah, Master Bianchi, you are searching for your brother, I surmise?"

"Have you seen him, Mister Guiseppe?" Bianchi asked the man with a smile. "I baked him cupcakes! You and your friend can have some too." She offered, holding up her basket.

"He is in the garden, with young Giovanni. Me and my friend have just eaten, and I fear there might not be enough cupcakes left if we take some, so we will have to graciously decline, Master Bianchi. _Grazie._" Guiseppe said.

"Alright. _Grazie!" _She replied, and made her way to the manor's expansive garden, and as she searched for her brother, she heard faint rushed whispers she could bearly make sense of.

"Oh no! Come on Gio! We need to hide before she sees us!" Hayato said as he tugged at the older boy and ran for the hedge maze.

"Wait, Master Hayato, isn't she your sister? Why are you running from her?" the boy said as he tried to keep up and keep himself from stumbling.

"Oh, right, you're new here." Hayato looked at him seriously. He whispered: "If you want to survive, don't eat whatever my sister cooks."

The other boy looked at him incredulously. "But, why?"

"You don't wanna know, so just don't. Okay?" Hayato said.

"Good afternoon, little brother!" Bianchi greeted as she appeared from the maze's passage to their right. "I baked cupcakes for you and your friend."

Hayato looked horrified. "W-we just ate, didn't we, Gio? Mamma came to the garden and had tea with us. We're still full. Tell her, Gio."

"I-I can't lie to her..." he said nervously.

"Oh great." Hayato sighed in exasparation. "You can give Gio the cupcakes... I-I'm gonna be late for piano practice!" and with that, the silver-haired boy was gone.

Bianchi sighed. "He already had piano practice this morning."

"He said he really wants his next recital to be perfect." Giovanni said, still looking at the direction where his Young Master ran from.

"Well, I can't let these go to waste..." she said, and handed the boy the basket. "I hope you like blueberries. What was your name again?"

"...G-Giovanni." He replied sheepishly. "I-I can't possibly accept these, Master Bia-"

"Hayato said to give them to you. It's alright." She said. "See you around then."

"Grazie, Master –"

"My name is Bianchi, just Bianchi." She smiled.

And the rays of the afternoon sun that bathed the Tuscan countryside began to fade, and the smell of the vineyard's maturing wine grapes was replaced by the smell of anteseptics... Bianchi tried to focus her eyes and sat up once she regained her conciousness. "Giovanni..." she whispered to herself as she checked if Basil, Kyoko and the kids were unharmed.

'_How could I not have seen through him?' _she berated herself, trying to think of a time when Giovanni seemed suspicious. Those awkward smiles, the faint blushes, the way he would always go out of his way to help her – she had thought he was sincere, and now she could hardly believe this traitor was the same boy she and her brother grew up with at the manor.

She hastily grabbed her phone and dialed her father's number.

She had resolved that she would get to the bottom of this. The mafia world would be reminded once again why she was named The Poison Scorpion.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the examination room, just as the strap on Haru's right hand was about to bind her, a bright red flame came out of nowhere and caused the Estraneo scientists to curse in Italian and take a step back. "What the-?"

"Uri-chan!" Haru exclaimed as she jolted upright and took off the strap on her leg as fast as she could. There was only one thing on her mind – get out of there, and fast. She grabbed the storm-cat and ran as fast as she could away from her opressors. She ran for her life – anywhere as long as she was away from there.

'_Should I go inside a room and hide myself? Should I keep running until I find an exit?' _Her thoughts were running through her head faster than her footsteps. She took a left once she heard voices, took a staircase down, kept running as fast as she could... until suddenly Uri jumps down from her arms and runs toward the coorridor to her right – she chased after the storm-cat, and finally they reached the end of a hallway, and a tall, bescpectacled man was looking at her with surprise.

"You must be the new test subject." He said in Italian, with pity in his eyes. "How could they do this to such a young lady?" Haru had already turned quickly and was running despite being out of breath, but the man ran to her and took her hand to stop her. With a serious expression, he whispered: "Trust me."

She was almost at her limit, she had no energy to overpower the man, and once again she had to put her outmost faith in a stranger. The man led her to an empty corridor and inside what looked like an office. He locked the door and motioned for her to take a seat.

The man took a seat on the desk chair opposite her, and with a heavy accent said: "My name is Innocenti. I know you do not know who I am, but I want to help you."

Haru gave him a cautious nod to show that she understood what he was saying. Uri was on the desk, nuzzling the man affectionately – it was something Haru found peculiar, this man was a stranger, and Uri was never this affectionate, even to Hayato, his owner. Haru believed that Uri had led her to this man, and since the cat had helped her escape, maybe the cat was telling her she could trust him. Little did she know that this man would be Uri's creator, maybe Innocenti himself didn't know.

"Your cat seems to trust me more than you do." he said with a small smile as he patted Uri's head. "I've always been fond of cats – they're quite mysterious, you see. They always seem like they know a lot more than they want to show you." He then opened his desk drawer and pulled out a gun, a black, ordinary looking forty-five caliber pistol - which caused Haru to fear for her life for a second... before he then laid it on the desk in front of her and said: "Take this. You will probably need it - such a boring ordinary weapon, but effective to an extent. These Estraneo have taken my greater works in their storage rooms."

Haru stared at the gun with fear – the thought of taking a person's life, even to protect her own, was something that had never crossed her mind. She had never imagined she would ever be in a situation like this – if she took it, there was a possibility that she could hold a person's life in her hands, decide a person's life or death... and it meant the end of her blissful innocence, and the beginning of a tainted life with the sin of death forever looming over her.

...but it might also be the only way to save herself, and maybe even save Hayato. And as the thought crossed her mind – the possibility of repaying the silver-haired boy for saving her life, she resolved to take it. Like she told herself earlier: She couldn't rely on him forever.

She had held the pistol in her hand gingerly, and gave Innocenti a nod of affirmation.

The man smiled a little and said: "If ever you feel like I am being untrustworthy, do not hesitate to shoot me. It is partly my fault you have been taken here, after all... I can only apologize – I can only imagine how horribly confusing it must have been to lose your memories."

"I forgive you." Haru said, trying to comfort the man. "We all make mistakes – and I believe we all deserve a chance to atone for them... but first, we need to get out of here, Innocenti-san."

* * *

An expensive, black, fresh-out-of the factory sedan was zipping through the streets of Namimori, earning it's fair share of angry motorists and annoyed pedestrians. Little did the citizens know that a struggle between Families was happening in their town, and as they got on with their mostly mundane lives, that they had a luxury which others could only wish for – time.

"You don't have to come with me, Guiseppe. You've served the family so well and-" Gokudera's father said, but was stopped abruptly.

"It would be my honor to give my life for the safety of the family. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I fail you now." He said, driving as quickly as he could, zipping through the traffic. "Besides, Master Hayato is like a nephew to me."

"Just like you are a brother to me." The boss replied. Just then, his phone rang – it was his daughter on the line. "What's the matter, Bianchi?"

"Father, it's Giovanni – he's gone. He's the traitor." She said hastily. "He probably staged Haru's kidnapping to make it look like he tried to protect the kids… it's been him all along… how could I have not seen it?"

"Stay calm, _figlia mia_." He said. "This will all be over soon."

"Be careful, father." She replied. "I'm going to try and look for him, and please don't try tell me not to. I have a responsibility to this family too."

"Alright, but you have to promise me you'll be careful too – I would not be able to take it if both my children would get hurt." He said worriedly. "Leave the rest to us."

"Yes father." She said as she ended the call.

"And so our old sins come back to haunt us." He said with a sigh.

* * *

Gokudera, Takeshi and Franca were stealthily making their way around the hideout, heading to the upper floors where Chikusa had mentioned that the examination rooms would be.

"We're setting up the bombs over the inner offices now." Shamal's voice was heard on their earpieces. "Surprisingly, the Estraneo have really clean air vents. Kakimoto's trying to listen in on a meeting."

"We're still looking for Haru." Yamamoto said in reply.

"Chrome's got the surveillance equipment under control ~byon." Ken added.

"Just tell me when you need me to get their attention." Tsuna said. He was already outside the mountain hideout, waiting for his cue.

Hayato then heard rapid footfalls in front of them. "We need to take them out as inconspicuously as possible."

"Yeah, we know." Franca said impatiently as she hid behind the wall and attached a silencer to her pistol. "Bring it on. I never really liked these freaks."

The door opened to reveal four Estraneo recruits who were doing the same thing they were a minute ago – looking for Haru. They were all put down in less than ten seconds with a mixture of bullets, storm flames, and a katana blade.

"Not bad, for kids." Franca smiled as she kicked one of the men for good measure. "I guess you're never too young to be a mafioso."

Suddenly, a voice behind them said: "The rats have finally come out to play. I always knew you could never really turn your back on them, Franca." And caused the three of them to stop in their tracks as they heard the sound of a click that meant a gun was loaded – and probably pointed at someone's head.

"I could, you know." Franca said, smirking, but not bothering to look at the man. "I just realized that they were a much better family than you Estraneo could ever be."

"Such brave words for a young lady." The man said. "Who else do we have here? Ah, the silver-haired half-breed and his friend, both trying to play hero and save the princess…"

A sudden gasp and the sound of a bullet through human flesh brought an end to the man's overlong villainous monologue. The three of them turned around and could not believe their own eyes. There she was, Haru with a pistol in her hands, and beside her a bespectacled man with Uri in his arms.

Haru let go of the smoking gun and it dropped to the floor, she broke down, fell to her knees and tears were falling down her cheeks. Hayato rushed over and kneeled in front of her. "You saved us Haru."

"Nice shot, right on the heart." Franca said, looking down at the man's immobile body. "Looks like your princess doesn't need saving after all."

Haru was still crying and put her arms around him. "I… I killed someone." She sobbed into his shirt. "I had to… I had to shoot him to save you…"

"I'm sorry Haru." Hayato said once he got over the shock, and cautiously tried to put his own arms around her to comfort her. "…I never wanted it to be like this. I should've been there to protect you…"

"I was finally able to return the favor… but I feel… I'm scared." She said to him. "This… I-I didn't want to kill someone… but I didn't want you to die."

"Not to ruin the dramatic reunion moment, but… that wasn't a lethal bullet." Innocenti said nonchalantly. "It causes a person to be unconscious for a few hours. I developed it myself."

Hayato – still not letting go of Haru, looked up at the man with piercing eyes. "You could have told her that earlier!"

"I am a scientist, not a murderer." He answered. "My work has caused this young lady so much pain, I am not about to give her a weapon that would turn her into a murderer too."

Haru wiped her eyes with her hands. She smiled a small smile as Hayato helped her stand up. "You could have mentioned that earlier, Innocenti-san… but thank you for giving me the chance to finally do something for them."

"Glad to be of service." The man said with a smile. "Now, we should probably get out of here. Once they see those bodies I am sure they would be alerted to us."

"We've found Haru." Yamamoto reported to the others via his headset. "We'll get out of here as soon as we can."

And so they all quickly walked away from the scene and looked for a way out, Franca trailing a few steps behind them.

"What took you?" Hayato asked.

"Oh you know, _unfinished business._" Franca smiled. "I hated that guy."

"You're scary sometimes, you know." He said.

"You're cute sometimes." She commented teasingly. "_I should have been there to protect you…" _she said in a sarcastic impression of him. "You're lucky that girl loves you so much – she was willing to kill for you."

"But I… I don't want her to kill for me." he replied.

"Then she probably doesn't want you to do it for her either." she said as she left him to his thoughts.

* * *

::A bit of cheese right there near the end to go with all the drama. This chapter was pretty hard to write – I really wanted Haru to do something that would balance out Hayato saving her… I didn't want it to be too much of a stretch away from her character though. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter.

::You know, since everyone in the series despite being from different countries seem to be able to communicate with each other perfectly, we can assume then, that everyone can speak and understand both Italian and Japanese. I'll sometimes still mention what language a sentence is spoken in though. And sometimes I will put in Italian words when I feel like the sentence would sound better with it.

::Anyway, the Omerta is an oath of silence sworn by every Mafioso. You could Google it if you need more information, I will probably get into that a little more in the next chapters, but it would be a bit of a spoiler into Giovanni's reasons for treason though.

::So yeah, four more chapters till the credits roll – thank you so much for still reading this story, and I hope I manage to finish it within this year. It's not much of a promise, I know, but college really has taken a lot out of me.


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